ELSEWHERE IN AG UTILIZATION
BY DAN LEMKE
CARTOONS © UNCLE HYGGLY / POUNCE.COM
Editors note: As a service to our readers, we provide
news from around the globe on new uses for agricultural
products. Please note that ARS is the research arm of
the USDA.
Fish Wrap
Frozen foods may soon be
protected by a nearly-invisible fish coating. Made from
gelatin extracted from skins of seagoing fish, such as
Alaskan Pollock, the coating can help seal in moisture in a
frozen dish, protecting taste and quality. Despite its
marine origin, the coating has no seafood taste or odor.
Scientists at ARS and several U.S. universities are
collaborating on gelatin studies. Beside food coatings, the
fish extract could be used as an ingredient in other food
products.
From: USDA-ARS, April 24,
2007
http://www.woundedcoot.com/
Tipping the scale
A new environmentally-friendly
ingredient for laundry and dishwashing detergents has been
developed by ARS and the Alabama company Folia. The
cornstarch-based product helps prevent “scale,” crusty
deposits that can cause clothing discoloration and cloudy
dishes and can diminish dishwasher’s and washing machine’s
performance. The biodegradable cornstarch derivative helps
to soften water, making detergents work better.
From USDA-ARS, April 2,
2007
Cholesterol blues
 Berries
may give cholesterol the blues, ARS researchers in
Mississippi have found. Scientists fed hamsters
high-cholesterol diets — some supplemented with dried
blueberry skins. The hamsters eating blueberry-enhanced
diets had significantly lower blood cholesterol levels than
those that didn’t eat the skins, and somewhat lower levels
than hamsters fed a lipid-lowering drug.
From: USDA-ARS, March
26, 2007
http://www.woundedcoot.com/
Do it all biomass
A research consortium from the
United States, major universities in the United Kingdom,
Asia and Africa and an international charity are working on
a three-in-one biomass powered appliance called SCORE (Stove
for Cooking, Refrigeration and Electricity). They expect it
will take five years to create a single device that people
in developing countries can use to cook, refrigerate and
produce electricity. It could be a boon to rural areas where
refrigeration and electricity are nonexistent but biomass is
plentiful.
From:
www.nature.com, May 14,
2007
Got plastic?
Researchers have discovered a process for mixing dairy-whey
protein with starch to create biodegradable plastic that can
be blended with polyethylene to make molded utensils.
Researchers at ARS and the Japanese National Food Research
Institute formed the blend using whey protein, cornstarch,
glycerol, cellulose fiber, acetic acid and the milk protein
casein to make the pliable plastic. The bioplastics can only
replace about 20 percent of polyethylene, but researchers
are applying this process to polylactic acid, which could
result in a completely-biodegradable bioplastic.
From: USDA-ARS, May 1, 2007
Cob grabber
 After
10 years of tinkering, Nebraska twin brothers Ty and Jay
Stukenholtz invented a device that harvests corn cobs during
combining. The device fits any combine and uses a series of
sieves and fans to separate the cobs and store them in a
separate hopper. Cobs are becoming increasingly valuable as
a biomass fuel.
From: The Des Moines Register, May 13, 2007
Cartoon:
http://www.woundedcoot.com
Cow pie power
University of New Hampshire students who invented MOR-2007,
which can convert cow manure directly into electricity using
an open-air microbial fuel cell, won the prestigious
International Environmental Design Contest held at New
Mexico State University in April. MOR-2007 is designed to
reduce maintenance, operational difficulty, odor and
phosphorous while minimizing manure impact on air and water
quality.
From: www.fosters.com,
May 15, 2007
Cartoon:
http://www.woundedcoot.com |
