07/10/07 Discovering a new food wrap

USDA researchers came up with a new way to remove casing from milk by using carbon dioxide instead of acids or chemicals. This environmentally friendly way to isolate dairy proteins from milk resulted in the creation of a casing based film that was very water resistant. Researcher Peggy Tomasula says they added surplus glycerol from biodiesel production TOMASULA "But then its refined if it's used for food applications and you're left with a pure glycerol product." And end up with a biodegradable protective wrapping for food and other products. TOMASULA "We think you can use it for coatings for food such as cheese to extend shelf life of other foods. They could be used to add color to products. They carry color beautifully. They could be used to add shine to products or even non-food type products or remove shine if that's the desired effect you want." This new film can be used for time release insecticides and it has been used for time release on fish food. Tomasula says it could be used in cooking food. TOMASULA "You could seal a food product inside the bag. It would protect it and then you could drop the bag and everything into boiling water. The film would dissolve away and you could cook your food." The discovery could lead to another value added product for the dairy industry. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott