Tag: Food

First Ever Mobile Food-Testing Lab Launched in India

Goa chief minister Mr Manohar Parrikar launched the country’s first ever mobile food testing laboratory. The vehicle, worth Rs 41 lakh was unveiled in Goa in the presence of the Goa Food and Drugs Administration minister Vishwajit Rane. Mr Parrikar said:

It is entirely funded by the Centre, which will also bear the maintenance cost for five years.

The laboratory, mounted on a bus will travel across the state and check food samples on the spot. Mr Parrikar said this would be the first ever ‘Food Safety on Wheel’ vehicle in the country. The laboratory will help in the on-the-spot testing of food items and curb adulteration. He continued:

Besides this, it will also educate people about nutrition and importance of safe food. The mobile lab will do away with the need to get the food samples to the FDA laboratory near Panaji for tests. It will cut the delays. As the time would be reduced, action can be initiated immediately, if the food samples are found unsatisfactory.

The laboratory, even though mobile, doesn’t slim out on the technology that it needs to function daily. The van comes fully equipped with gadgets such as a milk analyser, hot air oven, hot plate, mixer grinder, digital weighing scale, power generator, air conditioner, and more. It will be used to conduct tests for common adulterants in milk, water, edible oils and other food items, and make it possible to draw on-the-spot samples and generate instant reports of the analysis.

This is the first ever mobile food testing laboratory in India, and it might prompt the rest of country to launch more of such labs in the country to try and curb the problem of adulterated food.

December 11, 2017
Genie is a Replicator from Star Trek That Can Prepare Meals in Seconds

While watching Star Trek, did you ever think how cool it would be to own the ‘Replicator’ device that could synthesize meals and beverages on demand? Well, if that was your wish then Genie is here to accomplish all your food needs in a matter of 30 seconds. An Israeli company has developed an instant-baking machine called ‘Genie’, which is a replica of Replicator. It is just like having a personal chef that turns pods of dehydrated powders into meals on demand.

It’s a futuristic idea, but we are yet to understand the technology behind this. The company hasn’t disclosed the patented technology that runs this revolutionary device, but it surely is a piece of technology from the future. All you have to choose is the food pod and place it inside Genie. After 30 seconds, the desired food will be before you. The Genie is operated through an app that can personalise the meal, for example if you wish to have a gluten- or egg-free meal.

The pods that are small containers are stuffed with freeze-dried natural ingredients such as vegetables and fruits. The contents in the pod stay fresh for a year or two. Just add a little water and the pod is ready to be added to the Genie. When you push the button on Genie’s mobile app, the device starts adding required liquids from tubes attached to the back of the compact machine and mixes them. It bakes or cooks the desired dish at the appropriate temperature.

The product is being modified to prepare meals specific to the taste of the gourmand. Genie co-developer Doron Marco says, “Eventually Genie will know your micro-biome and will prepare the pod for you, just for you.”

Meanwhile, Genie cannot prepare all types of cuisines and the device makers are developing new recipes for Genie pods. But it is right to say that Genie is the first step to the evolution of food technology. The day is not far when chefs will be replaced by Genies.

May 12, 2015
Zomato Takes Online Food Delivery to the Next Level with its New App ‘Order’

In March, Zomato launched a delivery system where customers can place an order on its site and the same is delivered at their homes. More recently, Zomato had partnered along with Uber to help customers book cabs to the restaurant they are planning to eat. Now, the company is preparing to launch another new app called Zomato Order for its Android and iOS users.

The new yellow app’s primary functionality lies only on delivery of food. However, both, the native app and the new Order app, are intertwined in functionality. Users can switch from the older Zomato app to the new one instantly.

Zomato’s official blog reads that there are three main reasons as to why a new app is being launched. One, the focus on a single function will improve user experiences, thus making it a hassle-free app. Second, the new app will not have to be updated along with the native app and vice versa. Lastly, the two apps will be linked to each other in such a way that users will be able to look up to the restaurant in the Zomato app, and place the delivery order in the Order app.

Zomato explained,

Having two separate apps allows us to build lightweight apps that get straight to solving the problems you face. Actions that are core to the app experience can be given priority of position, and we aren’t forced into making real estate compromises.

The Order app is currently available for users in NCR and will soon be released for Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata users. Zomato is also working on a variety of new apps. One such app is ‘Zomato Book’ which will deal only with table reservations and is scheduled for launch in the next few months.

May 11, 2015