China Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 MIT’s Freaky Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing Watch never-before-seen videos of an amazing new condiment lubricant that makes the inside of bottles so slippery, nothing is left inside. This means no more pounding on the bottom of your ketchup containers--and a lot less wasted food. When it comes to those last globs of ketchup inevitably stuck to every bottle of Heinz, most people either violently shake the container in hopes of eking out another drop or two, or perform the "secret" trick: smacking the "57" logo on the bottle’s neck. But not MIT PhD candidate Dave Smith. He and a team of mechanical engineers and nano-technologists at the Varanasi Research Group have been held up in an MIT lab for the last two months addressing this common dining problem. The result? LiquiGlide, a "super slippery" coating made up of nontoxic materials that can be applied to all sorts of food packaging--though ketchup and mayonnaise bottles might just be the substance’s first targets. http://www.fastcoexist.com/embed/89099ca915d05 http://www.fastcoexist.com/embed/76e52c796caa1 Click on the links above for the full article and videos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I somehow doubt the "nontoxic" part Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 The coating is made entirely out of FDA approved materials. The inventors aren't telling which ones specifically, but apparently the selected combination and usage of the materials is patented. So it may be available to anybody who cares to go searching the USPTO for clues using the team members' names. It seems to me that the issue of toxicity really just revolves around the FDA's definition of food safety. So it's a question of whether or not you currently allow yourself to come into contact with any manufactured substance which the FDA calls safe. If you don't, then more power to you I guess. Otherwise, this is just a clever new use for the same list of materials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Don't think I want any lube in my ketchup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideshow24 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 So this is what they do when banned from casinos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 Don't think I want any lube in my ketchup! Yes, you prefer your lube elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Yes! More chemicals please!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 Yes! More chemicals please!!! Not more. As mjah pointed out, some of the same ones used in a new and different way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Yes! More chemicals please!!! Your tomato flavored corn syrup topping is now slipperier. Sounds great. At least the FDA says it's safe though. Just like mercury and pesticides! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Your tomato flavored corn syrup topping is now slipperier. Sounds great.At least the FDA says it's safe though. Just like mercury and pesticides! The bottom of the bottle should have a pic that says "All of this ketchup has been brought to you by Dow Chemical". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 The bottom of the bottle should have a pic that says "All of this ketchup has been brought to you by Dow Chemical". Remember when food had food in it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 Your tomato flavored corn syrup topping is now slipperier. Sounds great.At least the FDA says it's safe though. Just like mercury and pesticides! The ketchup isn't slipperier. The bottle is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 The ketchup isn't slipperier. The bottle is. So the ketchup no longer touches the bottle? :pfft: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Excuses Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 So the ketchup no longer touches the bottle? :pfft: The ketchup isn't reacting with the material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetoaster Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I am happy that I don't like condiments for the most part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 Just thinking out loud. Heinz says that the average American consumes 3 bottles of ketchup per year. That's 934,500,000 bottles. If this product resulted in less waste equivalent to just 0.1 oz per bottle, that would be 93,450,000 oz (or over 5 million lbs) of ketchup. What is the cost in fuel to transport that material and CO2 emissions to produce it? Not to mention the reduction in pollution from all the extra bottles that won't be needed. Yeah, god forbid we do something environmentally friendly and reduce waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 So the ketchup no longer touches the bottle? :pfft: Nope, it touches a chemical spray coating instead. ---------- Post added May-22nd-2012 at 03:35 PM ---------- Just thinking out loud. Heinz says that the average American consumes 3 bottles of ketchup per year. That's 934,500,000 bottles. If this product resulted in less waste equivalent to just 0.1 oz per bottle, that would be 93,450,000 oz (or over 5 million lbs) of ketchup. What is the cost in fuel to transport that material and CO2 emissions to produce it? Not to mention the reduction in pollution from all the extra bottles that won't be needed. Yeah, god forbid we do something environmentally friendly and reduce waste. That's a great point to make. Ever make your own? Much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 The ketchup isn't reacting with the material. Sure it isn't, trust us they say...until 5 years from now when the FDA announces a recall because the unique chemical combination has been discovered to be carcinogenic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Excuses Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Sure it isn't, trust us they say...until 5 years from now when the FDA announces a recall because the unique chemical combination has been discovered to be carcinogenic. Thanks Ken. Tell us how you really feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 Sure it isn't, trust us they say...until 5 years from now when the FDA announces a recall because the unique chemical combination has been discovered to be carcinogenic. Do you think it's possible for any substance that comes into contact with the ketchup to be inert? I assume so, otherwise you must believe you are eating glass every time you have ketchup out of a glass bottle. I don't know (and they probably don't either, because it hasn't been tested yet) but if it is tested and found to be inert, and toxicity testing is negative, how would this be worse than what we already have, considering my point above? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Thanks Ken. Tell us how you really feel. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you over the sound of history. ---------- Post added May-22nd-2012 at 03:43 PM ---------- Do you think it's possible for any substance that comes into contact with the ketchup to be inert? I assume so, otherwise you must believe you are eating glass every time you have ketchup out of a glass bottle. I don't know (and they probably don't either, because it hasn't been tested yet) but if it is tested and found to be inert, and toxicity testing is negative, how would this be worse than what we already have, considering my point above? And just how much stuff gets approved only to later be reconsidered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted May 22, 2012 Author Share Posted May 22, 2012 Nope, it touches a chemical spray coating instead.---------- Post added May-22nd-2012 at 03:35 PM ---------- That's a great point to make. Ever make your own? Much better. I never have. I'm sure making your own is much better, both flavor-wise and for the environment. It is unrealistic however to think that everyone could or would make their own, especially considering how much is used in restaurants (I'm including fast food places, if you can call them restaurants). So something that would reduce waste seems like a good thing to me. The toxicity point, I assume, is still unresolved as I don't think they've done any testing yet. ---------- Post added May-22nd-2012 at 03:45 PM ---------- I'm sorry, I didn't hear you over the sound of history.http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g3/ocujer/smoking.jpg ---------- Post added May-22nd-2012 at 03:43 PM ---------- And just how much stuff gets approved only to later be reconsidered? So nothing should ever be approved? And I imagine the number of things approved that gets reconsidered is a small percentage. They just get more publicity because people get hurt. It is impossible to reduce risk to zero unless you never want anything new approved. Oh, and cigarettes are a poor example because they were never "approved" and never went through any safety testing. Not to mention safety testing requirements are much more stringent now than they were 100 or even 50 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 So nothing should ever be approved? Isn't it interesting that a strawman can be built with the simple use of the word "so" followed by something that wasn't said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Isn't it interesting that a strawman can be built with the simple use of the word "so" followed by something that wasn't said. Instead of dismissing that as a strawman simply because it is convenient for you to do so, why don't you consider the actual purpose of the leading nature of the question and elaborate on your cause for skepticism in this particular case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Excuses Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 It wouldn't take a 5 year study to determine if ketchup, or other condiments, react with the coating inside the bottle. Even then, I'm pretty sure these guys took such an important factor into consideration. But don't let this get in the way of the FDA bashing session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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