Left: Image of the Tastee Tape | Right: Image of the Tastee Tape with blue food dye added ((Photo: Johns Hopkins University)
If you enjoy eating burritos, then you've likely experienced the inevitable collapse of the tortilla wrap at least once in your life. And while this doesn't take away from the delicious taste of this dish, it can be pretty annoying. That is precisely why a group of students at Johns Hopkins University set out to find a solution to this problem, resulting in an edible tape for burritos called Tastee Tape.
The creative invention was debuted at Johns Hopkins University's Engineering Design Day on May 3—an annual event where students from the Whiting School of Engineering demonstrate their prototype projects. Seniors Tyler Guarino, Marie Eric, Rachel Nie, and Erin Walsh were inspired to take their invention in a culinary direction after their wrap dishes kept falling apart. Their collective background in chemical and biomolecular engineering helped them create an edible tape made from “food-grade fibrous scaffold,” meaning it is completely safe to eat after it adheres to a food.
“First, we learned about the science around tape and different adhesives, and then we worked to find edible counterparts,” Guarino explains. The student team went through multiple recipes and test trials until they landed on a winning combination. Tastee Tape is presented in short two-inch strips affixed to wax paper. When you want to use it, you simply pull the strip off the sheet, add water to activate its adhesive qualities, and apply to the wrap. At the moment, the students are in the process of applying for a patent, and cannot divulge their secret formula for this useful product. “What I can say is that all its ingredients are safe to consume, are food grade, and are common food and dietary additives.”
A group of Johns Hopkins students invented an edible tape for burritos called Tastee Tape. It is invisible and tasteless.
Tortilla: taped
Burrito fillings: securedLet’s taco'bout Tastee Tape, an edible adhesive created by biomolecular and chemical engineering students which allows for a mess-free meal for wraps, gyros, and more. (2/6) pic.twitter.com/HB1o6VBHVB
— Johns Hopkins University (@JohnsHopkins) May 10, 2022
h/t: [CNN]
All images via Johns Hopkins University.
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