Edible food wraps target convenience and health positions
appeal to food makers looking for nutritious, colourful and
eye-catching films for convenience foods, reports Lindsey
Partos.
Scientists at the US department of agriculture's research agency (ARS) have developed 100 per cent vegetable and fruit-based wrapping similar to nori, the seaweed strip traditionally used for sushi.
The sushi-style wraps range from apple-cinnamon, red bell pepper, mango-orange, and carrot-ginger, to tomato-basil, broccoli, soybean, strawberry and peach.
The wraps are to set to gain from their strong positioning, straddling two soaring consumer food trends - convenience and health.
Convenience foods dominated growth in global product categories from 2003 to 2004, and are set to drive new product development in the next 12 months, finds a new report from market analysts ACNielsen.
In tandem, health led the polls, with soy-based drinks alone pulling in 31 per cent growth.
"Food and beverage companies that develop healthy products which also meet consumer demand for good taste and convenience will find a receptive market for these products," says Jane Perrin at ACNielsen and author of the report.
For ARS researcher Tara McHugh who worked on developing the sushi-style wraps, one of the biggest appeals is the wrappings' nutritional value.
Potentially, the wrappings could be used to create small fruit and vegetable strips fortified with minerals and vitamins that would be comparable to existing mint strips.
In addition, the film could be melted over meat products in the oven, covering them with a glaze and infusing them with flavour.
The wraps, which can be produced as soft, thin, pliable sheets, are made with infrared drying. Effectively, the films are made from vegetable or fruit puree that is diluted with water, and then are laid out on a flat surface to dry at room temperature.
They are not as strong as paper or plastic and their resistance to moisture and water is also rather low, but lipids or fats added to the recipe could bring strength to the formulation.
According to the USDA, the 'wrapping' researchers are currently working with commercial partners to prepare the films for marketing.
McHugh presented her vegetable and fruit wrappings at the annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists in New Orleans last week. She hopes the wrappings will be commercialised within the next year.
