Some of the world’s most popular foods and seasonings can also be the smelliest — think garlic, onions, certain cheeses and the notoriously stinky Asian durian fruit. No amount of plastic wrap seems to contain their stench, but now scientists have developed a new film that could finally neutralize the odors of even the most pungent fare. The report is published in the journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.
The researchers developed a film out of zeolites, which are microporous solids containing aluminum and silicon, and cellulose from wood. Testing the material showed that it could trap the sulfur-containing compounds often responsible for bad food smells. This adsorption reduced odors to levels below what humans can sniff out. Lennart Bergstrom and colleagues wanted to come up with a better packaging solution.
