Nanotech: the final frontier
Which came first, the science or the fiction? It's funny how science seems to follow fiction and I remember as a child watching Captain Kirk flip open his communicator and wishing I had one, instead of a block of wood!
And staying on board the Starship Enterprise, how far away are we from having an oven where you simply slot in a plastic plate and pull out a Chicken Korma, with fragrant Basmati and Coriander Naan?
Well actually, not as far away as you might think, thanks to nanotechnology.This is the control of matter at a nanometre, which is a billionth of a metre, so it's a bit small and size is the key!
Using nanotechnology in food, will allow you to control and develop the science of food as we know it ... Jim!
It can allow colours and flavours, invisible to the eye, to lay dormant until the consumer decides to choose their own flavour and colour combinations, after they've bought the product. This would be possible by simply hitting a button that triggers certain minute nano particles to react and not others. It can change and create texture that will allow you to feel food in your mouth like you never have. It can detect, remove and kill the bacteria in food and even carry nutrients, through cell membranes, to parts of the body that they couldn't reach before.
So what's the catch? Well, like anything that has massive market potential, we run before we can walk and there may be particles that react in a way we don't want them to. Which is a bit worrying when you consider that there are food products already out there, in the US and Asian markets.
Part of the inspiration for food science is not just food fiction - it's already here, from chefs such as Ferran Adria at restaurant El Bulli.
So what do nanotechnology and the worlds greatest chef have in common? It's an opportunity to offer the consumer something they have never had, or dreamed of having, before in their lives. This gives the consumer a whole new way to take a ride!
Mark Rigby is director of the Development Chefs' Network and business development chef for Premier Foods
