Silk Can Sense Food Contaminants

To make sure you're not eating contaminated spinach or tomatoes, you might someday want to sprinkle special silkworm silk on your salad.

Researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts say they've discovered a way to make "edible optics" from the silk that can be used as sensors for E. coli, salmonella and other potentially deadly contaminants.

By manipulating the natural optical traits of silk, researchers could "program" the sensors to display a hologram warning or change color when they come into contact with unwanted bacteria, the researchers say.

"This is something that would be similar to the hologram on your Visa card," said Tufts researcher Fiorenzo Omenetto.

Cheap, silk-based sensors that resemble transparent pieces of thin plastic could be tossed into a bag of produce, or even used to make the produce bags themselves, researchers say. Films made from silkworm silk could be used to coat salad tongs in a restaurant, or even be shredded and sprinkled on top of your food.

Omenetto says that in his experience, it has almost no taste.

Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution