EDIBLE WRAPS-THE IMPONDERABLES!

Any consumer while eating a cone ice cream might be thinking of similar wraps like the cone in which ice cream is filled, in the cases of other foods also. Of course cone ice cream has an outer wrapper which needs to be peeled before having a go at the cone part. But as a concept edible wrappers or packaging materials is no more Utopian as there are a few stubborn players harping on them through development of such edible wraps for some food and beverage products. How far such developments will go or how much time it will take for the main stream industry to use them widely after development is a question that has no answer right now. While the development efforts are going on in full swing how the safety regulators are going to react to this new paradigm is another uncertainty. After all packaging is meant to protect the contents from undesirable chemical, physical and microbiological changes and there is always the possibility that the outer surface of such packs may have contaminating agents requiring them to be cast away. Against such a situation how can an edible packaging material be eaten unless protected with an inedible but functional wrapper? A difficult question that must be addressed before introducing edible wraps in a big way. Here are some of the nuances on the subject which provides interesting reading.

Leading the way (in publicity terms, at least) is the Dumbledore of food technology, Harvard wizard Dr David Edwards whose previous innovations include an "breathable" chocolate delightfully called Le Whif. He has now turned his attention to WikiCells - an edible membrane made from a biodegradable polymer and food particles - that can imitate "bottles" found in nature, such as grape skins. So far, Dr Edwards and his team at Harvard's Wyss Institute have created a tomato membrane containing gazpacho soup, an orange membrane filled with orange juice that can be sipped through a straw, a grape-like membrane holding wine and a chocolate membrane containing hot chocolate. He believes pretty much any flavour is possible. He recently told Harvard's campus newspaper Harvard Crimson that his team was working on a prototype bottle that had an eggshell-like hard coating in addition to the membrane that could be peeled off or eaten whole. "In the near term, we will be encountering WikiCells in restaurant settings," he told the paper. He then plans to expand WikiCells into shops and supermarkets. Meanwhile, Indiana-based MonoSol is hot on Dr Edward's heels. Its water-soluble casings are already widely used to make squidgy pods of washing detergent. The company has been developing tasty edible films that are strong enough to act as packaging until they come into contact with water and dissolve. Products in the pipeline include individual servings of hot chocolate and other drinks that you slip straight into cups, and single servings of flavoured porridge. The company currently is punting the product to major food brands and it could be on the shelves in a year or two. Closer to home, Leicester-based Pepceuticals last month won a £1.3m European research contract to develop an edible coating for fresh meat, which the company says could increase shelf life, reduce waste and do away with the need for oil-based plastic vacuum packs. It cites research that shows UK consumers spend more money on meat than any other food item, but waste an astonishing 570,000 tonnes each year. "The potential to apply an antimicrobial film in the processing factory should significantly prevent the deterioration of the fresh meat product, and save waste. It will revolutionise the look and feel of the traditional meat counter," the company claims (pdf)

A possible alternative could be use of functional bulk packs containing multiple units made with edible packaging materials for easy dispensing at the retail point. Then comes the question as to the consequences of carrying these 100% consumable products by the consumers to their home, storing them and consuming after a few days. These are issues that must be addressed before the concept can be put into practice. Probably edible wraps may fit into the format of fast food outlets which can dispense food preparations in edible bowls and plates. Such a step may reduce the need for reuse of plates after one service and avoid the consequent risks inherent. Taking the cone ice cream example, keeping the cone and ice cream separately and serving them together at the serving counter is frequently practiced. To expect long shelf life food products to be packed in edible materials for wide distribution may remain a pipe dream unless some dramatic break-through takes place to circumvent the logistical and safety problems cited above.

V.H.POTTY
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http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

ORANGE JUICE, HIGH CALORIE FOODS AND INFLAMMATION-THE CONNECTION

A balanced food with adequate calories and proteins can prevent many life style disorders in humans where as high carbohydrate or fat containing foods when consumed regularly may cause havoc to the health condition of even a normally healthy person. The calorie rich foods containing too much sugar or high amounts of fat have been found to cause inflammation at the cellular level leading to undesirable changes in the functioning of the body causing varied disorders. While moderating food consumption is the most logical step to protect one's health, the recent findings that consuming orange juice can neutralize the adverse effect of bad diets can give some comfort to consumers.

The study involved three groups of 10 normal-weight healthy men and women between the ages of 20 and 40. After an overnight fast, participants ate a 900-calorie breakfast composed of an egg "muffin" sandwich, a sausage "muffin" sandwich and a serving of hash browns. The meal contained 81 grams of carbohydrates, 51 grams of fat and 32 grams protein. Along with the breakfast, one group drank 300 calories of "not-from-concentrate" orange juice, a second group drank a 300-calorie glucose drink and the third group drank an equal amount of water. All participants were given 15 minutes to finish their food and drink. Blood samples were collected before the meal and at 1, 3 and 5 hours after wards. There was no significant difference in inflammatory mediators among the groups before the meal.

Analysis of the samples after the meal showed that oxygen free radicals increased an average of 62 percent with water, 63 percent with the glucose and 47 percent with orange juice. There also was an increase in blood components known as toll-like receptors, which play an important role in the development of inflammation, atherosclerosis, obesity, insulin resistance, and injury to cardiac cells than can occur after a blocked vessel is reopened. Orange juice also prevented a significant increase in SOCS-3, an important mediator of insulin resistance, which contributes to development of type 2 diabetes. "These data emphasize that a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal is profoundly and rapidly pro inflammatory, and that this process occurs at the cellular and molecular level," says Paresh Dandona, MD, UB distinguished professor of medicine, director of the Diabetes-Endocrinology Center of Western New York at Kaleida Health and senior author on the study.

"In addition, specific pro inflammatory genes are activated after the intake of glucose and a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal, and these changes are observed in mono nuclear cells that participate in vascular inflammation and insulin resistance," he says."These observations extend our previous work showing oxidative and inflammatory stress following such meals by demonstrating a remarkable increase in the mediators of insulin resistance after a single meal, and the equally remarkable prevention of these changes following the intake of orange juice." Dandona emphasizes that vascular inflammation is an essential component of atherosclerosis, and that this inflammation may become permanent if a person consumes similar meals regularly."The choice of safe foods that are not pro inflammatory may provide protection from the unending cycle of postprandial and cumulative inflammation," he says. "This choice may lower the risk of atherosclerosis and resistance to insulin."

Drinking a glass of orange juice during breakfast is a standard practice in many countries and people there invariably take heavy breakfast which is the first food of the day on an empty stomach. How far this good habit has given way to uncontrolled consumption of other high calorie drinks amongst the young consumers is a matter of conjecture. It is up to the parents to bring orange juice back to the dining table as a part of the breakfast sooner than later!

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com