Every day, more than one-third of the world's food ends up in the trash, uneaten. Food waste accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions, three times that of the aviation industry. If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest carbon emitter.
In order to save the dying salad in his lunch box, Bill Birgen, a California aerospace engineer, invented a "food diaper" in his spare time from inventing jets and rockets. This accidentally saved millions of tons of food waste and the energy, water, and resources needed to produce the food.
He admitted that his biggest fear is opening his lunch box and finding rotten spinach. "Spinach leaves are very delicate. Once wet, they become damaged. Not only are they soggy, but they become limp, even slimy, and completely inedible," Bergen told The Spoon, an American food technology publication.
Saving the dying bento salad with a "food diaper"
"He looked at his lunch and said, 'My lunch is terrible — I have to do something,' and he sat down and made some prototypes," recalls Grant Stafford, co-CEO of SAVRpak and Bergen's entrepreneurial partner.
This "diaper" looks like the desiccant you often see in cookies, but it's chemical-free. It's made of paper pulp on the outside and ice on the inside, using food-grade adhesive. To use, peel off the adhesive backing and stick it in a lunchbox, takeout container, or food packaging. It feels cool to the touch.
The secret is "thermodynamics".
Salads will look limp, fries will become limp, and meals will become mushy, and the number one culprit is steam.
Hot food after cooking will continue to release moisture. As the temperature of the container drops and reaches the dew point, water vapor begins to accumulate on the container lid and form droplets, dripping and soaking the hot food, starting to breed microorganisms and cause rot.
Using Thermodynamics to Manage Water Vapor
A small SAVRpak patch will change the dew point, absorb moisture in the container, prevent condensation, and keep food dry and prevent it from seeping back.
"Our patch is cooler than the surrounding temperature (about 5%), so it absorbs moisture," Stafford told Fast Company. It's like a glass of ice water on a hot day: because the wall of the glass is cooler, the water vapor in the air condenses and is absorbed by the wall.
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/234848)
