What If Nutrition Facts Were Printed Directly On Food?

Nutritional labels have long been required on the back or side of many foods from breads, to cereals, packaged goods like snacks, desserts and so on. Why not print the facts directly on the items of food themselves where they can be prominently seen? Using an Eggbot printer, Dnewman did exactly that by printing an eggshell with a nutritional information. Inking food is not a brand new concept, for instance, inspected wholesale cuts of meat are stamped by The United States Department of Agriculture with a number. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service describes the stamp:

The dye used to stamp the grade and inspection marks onto a meat carcass is made from a food-grade vegetable dye and is not harmful. (The exact formula is proprietary/owned by the maker of the dye.)

This idea opens the door to all types of other food labeling bots and could potentially lead to packaging innovations in the food industry because if you’re going to buy an apple, pear, or other fruit or vegetable where the exterior is consumed, why not just print with an edible ink?

Dnewman

[via GOOD]