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MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

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Re: MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

#61

Post by schiffern »

durkie wrote: post #34
gamache wrote: post #9

Perhaps this is ignorance, but I do not want this anywhere near my food. The FDA's said a lot of things are non-toxic over the years.

This effect could be achieved with a "standard" superhydrophobic coating (or superhydrophilic for oil-based condiments). Those can be easily done with something like a nanostructured silica film (without having to functionalize the coating with additional chemicals), and silica is a very common food additive (fumed silica is already added to ketchup in fact to alter its flow properties)

The problem is that even benign materials can have unexpected outcomes that depend on their nano-structural properties. Carbon is safe, but carbon nanotubes can form cysts [1] and cause brain damage in fish [2].

[1] http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080520/full/news.2008.845.ht...

[2] http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4825-buckyballs-cause-...

Re: MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

#62

Post by troymc »

There are plenty of low-tech solutions that accomplish the same thing. For example: a ketchup syringe (but the "needle" end is wide, like those ends for decorating cakes with icing). Or a jar like a jam jar, which you can scrape out with a spoon. (Jam and ketchup are similar: mostly sugar, plus a bit of fruit.)

There's a reason Heinz and others don't go with containers that empty 100%: such containers last longer, keeping you from buying more ketchup. What they want is jars that hold on to even more ketchup. Patent that!

Re: MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

#63

Post by mechanical_fish »

starwed wrote: post #49
kondro wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure they've used some unique combination, treatment and application of those materials to create this effect.

The point of a patent is that you must disclose the method in return for a limited monopoly. It's to encourage the sharing of techniques!

So it is. Go find their patents and read them. Deduce what you can.

The spokesman is under no obligation, legal or otherwise, to make this easier than necessary. That is how the game is played. Nor is he a lawyer, or foolish enough to issue an off-the-cuff statement that undercuts the work of the actual team that has crafted the wording of the patents.

Re: MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

#65

Post by quote »

mikeknoop wrote: post #19

> "We had a limited amount of materials to pick from," Smith says. "I can’t say what they are, but we’ve patented the hell out of it." Wait wait wait, someone needs to explain to them what the intent of a patent actually is.

So maybe they've filed the application but have not received the patent/disclosed the invention yet? In the US, you have to prove that you were the first to invent something, not the first to file something (as in Europe), so the secrecy would make some sense...

Re: MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

#66

Post by cicloid »

blhack wrote: post #46
hammock wrote: post #12

The secret to getting ketchup out is to give it a good shake, then hit the heel of your hand "upwards" on the top of the bottle, near where the neck meets the body (on the 57 or not, doesn't really matter). The upward force is what counts, and it somehow gets the ketchup to come out relatively smoothly. Most people strike downwards, and that's why it doesn't work. If you don't believe me, try it! Learned this trick f…

My "secret" is to hold the bottle in my hand and swing my arm in a large arc, using centrifugal forces to pull the ketchup towards the mouth of the bottle. (With the cap on, obviously). SCIENCE

the only problem to this method is when it slips and the bottle ends up in the neighbors window.

Re: MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

#67

Post by geuis »

codezero wrote: post #64

Am I the only one that is suspicious of the quantity of ketchup used in the examples? Why aren't there examples with a nearly full, or even half full container? This would affect the dynamics enough that I would be interested in seeing what happens.

Its the remnants of ketchup and mayo that are the hardest to get out of a bottle. That's what the small amounts are demonstrating. You don't really have a problem getting the contents out of a full bottle.

Re: MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

#68

Post by smackay »

zizee wrote: post #58
rohansingh wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was posted in the comments section of the article: >I'm Dave Smith, and I just want to clarify that we make the coating from materials that are not just FDA approved, but that we actually eat on a regular basis in much larger quantities than could possibly be released from the coating.

It sort of looks like the bottle has been coated on the inside with oil. Because of the chemical similarities between oil and plastics, oil really sticks to plastic, creating a hard to remove oily coating on plastic surfaces. You really notice this effect if you have the joy of having to hand wash a plastic mixing bowl that has had oil in it. I wonder if something similar is going on here? If they are eating this stu…

Just use a little bit of detergent without any water. Scrub then rinse.

Re: MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

#69

Post by codezero »

geuis wrote: post #67
codezero wrote: post #64

Am I the only one that is suspicious of the quantity of ketchup used in the examples? Why aren't there examples with a nearly full, or even half full container? This would affect the dynamics enough that I would be interested in seeing what happens.

Its the remnants of ketchup and mayo that are the hardest to get out of a bottle. That's what the small amounts are demonstrating. You don't really have a problem getting the contents out of a full bottle.

I'll take your word for it since I don't have a bottle handy, but I am still suspicious. I have had issues getting ketchup out of a nearly full bottle because it's difficult for the air to flow back into the bottle as ketchup comes out.

Re: MIT’s Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing

#70

Post by quantumstate »

DigitalSea wrote: post #5

This is amazing. Now when I hit the ketchup bottle really hard forgetting it has a non-stick coating my plate can be covered in a whole bottle of ketchup thus making the ketchup company more money when I have to buy another bottle. I like hitting the ketchup bottle to get the last bit of sauce out, especially when I do it for my girlfriend. Now what chivalrous activity will I have left to do for my girlfriend? What's…

Too late, Duerr's have been selling them already. I was pretty impressed, they are genuinely easy to open. http://silvergroup.asia/blog/an-age-friendly-packaging-innov...
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