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💡 Scientists Made Cookies From Plastic Bottles, But They Have Not Tried Them Yet
Researchers at Southern Illinois University have developed a technology that can turn PET plastic waste and plant waste into food ingredients.
🔥 First, plastic bottles and plant waste are ground up and treated with water and oxygen under high temperature and pressure. The material breaks down into carbon-rich molecules. Specially engineered yeast then converts them into proteins, fats, and organic acids.
Next, they add starch, fiber, and a sweetener to the mixture, which they feed into a food-grade 3D printer. This produces small protein cookies called µBites—"microbites." To improve the flavor, the researchers also engineered baker's yeast to produce vanillin from plant waste.
❤️ The scientists praise the aroma, but they have not tasted the cookies themselves yet, they are waiting for university approval.
➡️ µBites were originally created as part of NASA's Deep Space Food Challenge, as a way to produce food during long-duration space missions. While the technology is still far from mass production—a kilogram of these cookies currently costs around $60—the researchers expect the price to fall as the process scales up.
Would you try a cookie made from a plastic bottle?
❤️ — Yes, it looks tasty!
🔥 — I already get enough microplastics in my food
@hiaimediaen
