Keeping your body hydrated is an arduous task and with that comes an added responsibility of proper disposal of the plastic bottles. With people becoming well aware of the enormous amount of waste generated from plastics each year and its disastrous impact on our surroundings, phrases like ‘Carry your own bottle’ are fast catching up. But, how practical is it to actually carry your own bottle everywhere. There is a reason why there are so many videos on Youtube about how to pack minimally. People are in love with the idea of traveling light. So, in such a situation even carrying a metal bottle seems too much to ask for. However, we believe that it is a small price to pay for our beloved mother nature.
But, what if a solution came up which had answers to both of the fore-mentioned issues? No added weight and no more harm to nature. The geniuses of Skipping Rocks Lab (now known as Noptla) are already there. They have presented to the world the molecular cuisine: OOHO. It is an edible blob, a flexible packaging material for water made from a natural seaweed extract. Also, if you don’t want to ingest the film, no worries, since it will degrade in just 4-6 weeks. Moreover, a variety of colors and flavors can be imbued in this flexible film giving it an aesthetic appearance.
The innovation that is revolutionizing the water market is based on a popular method- spherification introduced by Ferran Adria. The water is contained in a double membrane, composed of calcium chloride and sodium alginate extracted from algae. The two components form a gel-like structure that contains the liquid. Exterior to this membrane, another film is used to maintain hygienic conditions for the blob. The technology is not limited to water alone and can be used for other products like fruit and juice as well. One added advantage is that these components are much cheaper than plastic and hence the cost of the product is also lower, the cost of production being as low as 2 cents.
The building block of this package is made from brown seaweed. This seaweed has an unidentified potential, growing up to as fast a metre a day. Some more benefits are that it won’t compete with other food crops, will grow without freshwater or fertilizer, and cleanse the ocean by de-acidifying it. Oohos are not the only product for which it has been used for. Heat sealable films, sachets, and nets are on the go.
The amazing invention has won Skipping Rocks Lab numerous awards and recognition, the second annual Lexus Design Award 2014, the 2014 World Technology Award (environment), 2015 SEA Award, 2016, UK Energy Globe Award to name a few. Skipping Rocks Lab,(a venture of Spaniard Rodrigo García González, along with Pierre-Yves Paslier) spent the past few years inventing a sustainable innovative method for the process. The team consisting of chemists, engineers, designers, and business advisors have not stopped yet and are fishing out other uses of this seaweed to accomplish their mission of becoming a leading global producer for seaweed-based packaging.
“Why can’t such innovations come from India?” Developing interest in this discussion, this challenge was taken up by Workbench projects in Bengaluru. This inexpensive treat at 2 per 100 ml is a treat to the Indian Science market. It piqued the interest of Richard Gomes working in the area of biohacking, utilization of natural substances in artificially based products to work towards a better product. Richard Gomes and K Nithya started working on the research and were grateful to be given a platform at the Workbench Projects by Pavan Kumar and Anupama Gowda. The steps for making these edible pods are as follows:
Freeze a mixture of water and alginate polymer at -100C.
Dip the ice in a consumable biochemical mixture
This mixture facilitates the encapsulation of ice on all sides by the alginate polymer. Later the ice melts and gives us an edible pouch filled with the liquid water inside. Fascinating, isn’t it?
Kudos to the Workbench Projects and the scientists for bringing this marvel to India as well.
The Skipping Rocks Lab innovation has already been introduced at the London Marathon. So Food Technology is achieving the impossible and eating your water is another milestone it has achieved. So, are you ready to eat your water yet?
References
1. The ooho! edible water bubble gets set to replace plastic bottles, www.designboom.com
コメント