New Tech Could Be the Next Step in Food Transparency

In a new project at Rice University, researchers used a commercial laser to transform the surface carbon in foods—such as toast, coconuts shells, potatoes and Girl Scout cookies–into graphene. Graphene is a line of carbon that’s only as thick as a single atom, and is several times stronger than steel and 100 times more conductive than copper. 

So what does this have to do with food? 

For decades, the food industry has been waiting for the price and size of RFID chips to become usable on every package. Graphene might be the answer; it can be patterned into a thin, edible circuit, a radio hardware to transmit data, or other types of sensors.   

James Tour, the lead researcher, said in a press release, “Perhaps all food will have a tiny RFID tag that gives you information about where it’s been, how long it’s been stored, its city and country of origin, and the path it took to get to your table.”

Perhaps this is the ultimate blockchain.

He also said that graphene could be used to create E. coli sensors designed to spot contaminated food, and a circuit might glow a warning light in response, as all these components are graphene-based and edible.   

Before we get too excited, so far the technique only seems to work on foods high in lignin, an insoluble fiber in foods such as whole grains, wheat and corn bran, beans and peas, potato skins, green beans, cauliflower, zucchini, celery, avocados and bananas. But it's certainly enough variety to test the concept.

Related:Is Ultra-Processed Food Linked to Cancer?