Dairy products are the first to adopt technology.
You do not see, does not smell, but you can eat. The University is proposing a revolution in the food industry: a film that allows packaging of foods, increasing their shelf life, but that is so thin it's invisible. It can eat up, because its base is a material that is 100 percent safe for human consumption.
Foods are covered with a liquid solution containing a nanoparticle that, when dry, will create a protective film. This material prevents the microorganisms from contaminating the fruit or vegetable, solving problems of food security. "In practice, this is a barrier," said Teixeira, a researcher at the University of Minho (UM) which coordinates the team of five people who developed this innovation.
The material which forms the basis of this solution is used for several years in the food industry. These are polysaccharides, which are the basis of the cooking broth, for example. The novelty lies in how it is put at the service of food safety. The technology developed in Minho presents a set of advantages that brings those responsible to believe they can revolutionize the food market.
Deterioration decreases
The products involved with this nano-film are less exposed to natural deterioration, increasing the period during which you can consume them. In the case of strawberries - one of the fruits that the application of this technology is more developed - were achieved reductions in losses of 30 percent.
"The consumer can not see, feel, and can eat food without problems," says Teixeira. The solution allows to increase the shelf life of food and enhance food security. In addition, the membrane can become a vehicle for adding value addition, allowing the incorporation of bioactive compounds in foods such as antioxidants or antibiotics can be applied nanofilms The three forms. The easiest is to soak food in a viscous liquid with the characteristics necessary for their protection, but is a more expensive solution, because they spend greater amounts of material. The researchers are now working on a model of sprinkling, that can be adapted to existing solutions in the food industry for washing food. The UM is also developing an application in film, very similar to adherent films that are commonly used in home kitchens.
Cheese Thursday of the Navy will soon be the first major test of this invention. Packaged products with nanofilms developed in Minho coming soon to the market, responding to a problem that the company - which several years working with UM - facing and that is common to several dairies. Cheese is a perishable food easily, requiring constant speed of the stocks in supermarkets, often involving large losses for producers.
The invention of the team coordinated by José Teixeira reduces by 20 percent losses in mass of cheese, which then can spend more time on store shelves. This type of solutions is already being tested with two other dairies and there are also companies in Brazil interested in applying the technology.
The new solution of the research in nanotechnology applied to food packaging industry in which this group has specialized UM. The area is booming and the market represented in 2002, 150 million dollars a year, be worth next year, something like 20 billion dollars, the latest estimates show.
You do not see, does not smell, but you can eat. The University is proposing a revolution in the food industry: a film that allows packaging of foods, increasing their shelf life, but that is so thin it's invisible. It can eat up, because its base is a material that is 100 percent safe for human consumption.
Foods are covered with a liquid solution containing a nanoparticle that, when dry, will create a protective film. This material prevents the microorganisms from contaminating the fruit or vegetable, solving problems of food security. "In practice, this is a barrier," said Teixeira, a researcher at the University of Minho (UM) which coordinates the team of five people who developed this innovation.
The material which forms the basis of this solution is used for several years in the food industry. These are polysaccharides, which are the basis of the cooking broth, for example. The novelty lies in how it is put at the service of food safety. The technology developed in Minho presents a set of advantages that brings those responsible to believe they can revolutionize the food market.
Deterioration decreases
"The consumer can not see, feel, and can eat food without problems," says Teixeira. The solution allows to increase the shelf life of food and enhance food security. In addition, the membrane can become a vehicle for adding value addition, allowing the incorporation of bioactive compounds in foods such as antioxidants or antibiotics can be applied nanofilms The three forms. The easiest is to soak food in a viscous liquid with the characteristics necessary for their protection, but is a more expensive solution, because they spend greater amounts of material. The researchers are now working on a model of sprinkling, that can be adapted to existing solutions in the food industry for washing food. The UM is also developing an application in film, very similar to adherent films that are commonly used in home kitchens.
Cheese Thursday of the Navy will soon be the first major test of this invention. Packaged products with nanofilms developed in Minho coming soon to the market, responding to a problem that the company - which several years working with UM - facing and that is common to several dairies. Cheese is a perishable food easily, requiring constant speed of the stocks in supermarkets, often involving large losses for producers.
The invention of the team coordinated by José Teixeira reduces by 20 percent losses in mass of cheese, which then can spend more time on store shelves. This type of solutions is already being tested with two other dairies and there are also companies in Brazil interested in applying the technology.
The new solution of the research in nanotechnology applied to food packaging industry in which this group has specialized UM. The area is booming and the market represented in 2002, 150 million dollars a year, be worth next year, something like 20 billion dollars, the latest estimates show.
Source publico.pt
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