The Shape of Food to Come

If you doubt food technology will change radically within the next few years, try these on for size:

High pressure processing that blasts orange juice and other beverages with up to 150,000 pounds per square inch to prevent bacteria from reproducing but without compromising the products’ taste or food texture;

Smart packaging -- food packages that not only signal when food no longer is edible but are even self-correcting when microorganisms reach a certain number;

Nanotechnological foods --- foods assembled from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms present in the air as water and carbon dioxide; and

The ultimate functional food --- nanobots present in foods that can circulate through the blood system, ridding our bodies of harmful fat deposits and pathogens.

Needless to say, all of these foods have drawn their share of critics.

Pat Mooney, executive director of ETC Group, a Canadian watchdog group, is especially concerned about the damage nanoparticles pose to humans and the environment.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at May 18, 2004 10:33 AM | TrackBack