Led by a Bangladeshi scientist, a group of researchers at Rice University in Texas developed a way to enhance the shelf life of fruits and vegetables using an entirely edible and washable protein-based coating. The coating, prepared by mixing egg white, yolk, cellulose from wood, and a turmeric extract called curcumin, keeps the perishable goods fresh for days. It is not expensive, neither does it change their appearance or flavour. Muhammad Maksud Rahman, a Buet graduate and an assistant research professor at Rice University, believes sustainable technology can solve some of the humanity’s greatest problems.
The sustainable solution will solve a pressing problem of food preservation and distribution, thus nutrition demand of millions of starving people across the globe. The invention comes at a time when one in nine still goes to bed with an empty stomach every night and a third of the world’s population suffer from malnutrition. Indiscriminate use of highly toxic preservatives like formalin causes many non-communicable diseases. Scientists for many decades have been looking for a safe and sustainable green strategy to preserve perishable goods without altering their biological and physicochemical characteristics. Following extensive research, the scientists developed a protein-based biocompatible and sustainable alternative.
The Bangladeshi born scientist believes in collaboration to bring the best out of science. Currently, the team is set to test alternatives created with soy and corn proteins so that the coating can address the allergy issue related to eggs. Moreover, the researchers are extending their work to extract the protein from various fruits and vegetable wastes that are going to be used for producing the coating for vegans. For making the product commercially, the researchers are now carrying out technological-economic analysis. This will bring down the cost of the coating industry, cut food waste and help recycle food. Bangladeshi universities should tie-up relations with industries, gear up similar applied research.
