Behold the Food of the Future

Posted on Nov 18, 2009

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New twist on an old classic: Could it be that the pizza and beer of the future will help consumers lose weight? Does this notion seem at all creepy to you?

Want some Frankenfood with your superfood? How about those functional foods? As you might imagine, a preview of what we may be eating—or at least what we may be told is good for us—in the future is best taken with a grain of salt. Alex Renton, a journalist from Britain’s Times, allowed himself to become one of many guinea pigs trying some future-forward foodstuffs and listening to sponsors’ pitches in two European venues.

Times Online:

A taste of things to come

Imminent slim while you guzzle: pizza and beer to help you lose weight. Drinks, snack bars and foods containing encapsulated liquids that turn to fibre in your stomach, slowing the “transit time” of food through your system and giving an illusion of being full.

Fresh just got better: carton fruit juices and other “fresh” products in packets are often heat-treated to destroy bacteria, though this can damage them. New techniques such as pasteurisation by high pressure or electric pulse will extend shelflife without impairing taste or vitamins. They will also cut down on the need for preservatives.

Where would you like to be served? Nano-capsules, many times narrower than a human hair, allow flavours and other chemicals to be suspended invisibly in fluids. They dissolve and release their contents when they reach your palate, your stomach, or your lower gut, as the manufacturer wishes. It’s a new way of delivering nutrients or medicines, or selling, say, a vinaigrette that never needs shaking.

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