engineering students invent edible tape for burritos and wraps

Tightly tucked-in ingredients

When John Hopkins University Engineering students Tyler Guarino, Marie Eric, Rachel Nie, and Erin Walsh order a burrito to feast on for lunch, their hands lightly squeeze the tortilla to feel how tightly tucked in the beans, rice, cheese, peppers, and tomatoes are.

Yet often, drips of oil and fragments of the ingredients inside burst at the seams of the tortilla, painting their tops, pants, and plates with stains. From such experiences, the students formed a team and devised ‘Tastee Tape’, an edible adhesive that zips the burrito, taco, gyro, wrap, or food art and keeps its ingredients from falling out from its tuck.

images by the Tastee Tape team and from John Hopkins University

Food-grade fibrous scaffold

Made of food-grade fibrous scaffold and an organic adhesive that melts in the mouth, savoring one’s favorite burrito no longer has to be messy. ‘First, we learned about the science around tapes and different adhesives, and then we worked to find edible counterparts,’ says Guarino on the project.

Stuffing various ingredients in different wraps – sometimes full, other times leaving space for extra add-ons – helped the team’s multiple tests in finding the right formula for creating the edible adhesive. The outcome introduces an edible, safe, and tensile strength tape to hold together a fat burrito.

engineering students invent edible tape for burritos and wraps

Portable adhesive

Since the team is in the phase of applying for a patent, they refuse to share the components of their edible adhesive. ‘What I can say is that all its ingredients are safe to consume, are food grade, and are common food and dietary additives,’ says Guarino. The months the team spent holed up in a laboratory to test their brainchild unveils rectangular strips measuring half an inch by two inches, which are attached to sheets of waxed paper as their container.

To use tastee Tape, simply remove a strip from the sheet, wet it thoroughly, and apply it to the wrap or any food that may need a lock. The team shares they have put their invention to the test on “too many burritos to count,” and places their faith in the quality of their product. ‘Tastee Tape allows you to put full faith in your tortilla, and enjoy your meal, mess-free,’ says Guarino.

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