A bit of a potpourri this week on collected items concerning food.
From the “Nothing beats the real thing” file is an item about Quorn, a
meat substitute made from fungus. The low-fat, protein-rich substance
is said to have the texture of meat.
It was invented and manufactured in northern England – the village of
Quorn, to be exact – and it crossed the pond earlier this year to end
up as a meat wannabe in lasagna and other dishes.
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Manufacturers of Quorn say its chief ingredient is an unassuming member
of the mushroom family. More specifically, it is made from Fusarium
venenatum, a fungus that farmers will recognize as having the same
genus as the pesky wheat disease that has cost billions in crop
destruction.
No great surprise, then, that many Americans have claimed to experience
vomiting, diarrhea and other ailments after eating Quorn. Consumer
advocates are now criticizing the American Food and Drug Administration
for approving the “food,” but it’s still available and reportedly
popular in Europe.
From the “what next” file is another item on meat, but this stuff is
grown in a laboratory. Scientists were searching for ways to provide
protein to explorers on lengthy space voyages without the complications
of raising and slaughtering fish or animals – an alternative to pigs in
space, as it were.
As reported by CNN, scientists sliced up muscle from large goldfish,
placed them in a vat of nutrient-rich liquid, and within a week the
chunks had grown 16 percent larger. Dressed up with a few spices, the
lab chunks look and smell like fish, but so far no one has been
persuaded to eat it and render an opinion.
From the “shocker in the grocery store” file is an item from Parkay,
the butter-flavoured spread made by ConAgra.
In July, selected tubs of Parkay actually piped up and spoke to
shoppers.
“The label says Parkay, the flavour says butter,” they proclaimed.
No word on whether this caused consumer consternation, made possible
through motion sensors and a voice chip implanted in the tubs.
You want to know what really tastes like butter? Butter.
One final item from the world of computer technology: chicken feathers
might soon replace silicon in microchips.
As reported in the Washington Post, the air-pocket properties of
chicken feathers could help chips transmit information even faster than
those made from space-age materials.
