Interactive Food To Use Nanotechnology To Change Flavour, Nutrients and Colour

May 13 2004

Topics Covered

Background

One of the more futuristic applications of nanotechnology lies in the production of “interactive” food and beverages that change colour, flavour or nutrients depending on a diner’s taste or health.

Interactive Beverages

Dr. Manuel Marquez, a senior scientist at Kraft Foods and the director of the NanoteK Consortium readily admits there may not be much of a market for products that change colours, but he is more optimistic about the flavour and health care applications.

The vision, he said, is to have products that employ nanosensors to detect a person’s individual profile — everything from their likes and dislikes to their susceptibility to various allergies as well as nutritional deficiencies — and then employ nanotechnology to release precisely controlled amounts of the appropriate molecules to tailor the smell and taste of the product for the end user.

Researchers are even exploring how to release, say, an appropriate amount of calcium molecules to a person showing early signs of osteoporosis. To protect a person from allergies, “smart filters” are being developed within the labs of the NanoteK Consortium that could adjust their shape to allow only the beneficial molecules to reach the recipient while capturing those molecules that could cause an allegoric reaction in a person.

Source: Advantage Magazine February 2004

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