Super Chef, along with chefs across the country, has been keeping a keen eye on FIRST LEGO League‘s Food Factor teams to see what kind of food safety inventions and innovations they come up with.

Why?

These teams of 9-14 year olds are tackling real life food safety problems, largely unencumbered by ideas of the ways things should be done. They are thinking out-of-the-box – be it pizza box, milk carton, or pallet of beef – and what they come up with just surprise all of us.

How important is their task?

Although FIRST LEGO League is about having fun, kids can make a big difference to our lives. Food safety is one of the most important issues facing the world today – on an individual, governmental, and international level. Chefs are dealing with food safety every day. FIRST LEGO League teams are dealing with this issue for only this year.

Here’s a summary of some of the “invention” so far by FLL kids:

· Sticker that verifies if meat needs refrigeration
· Meat thermometers with improved features
· Refrigerated storage for grilling hamburger patties
· Paper towels that detect contamination on fruit
· Conveyor belt with a new kind of LED light that kills the bacteria in the food.
· Humidity controlled box to remove ethylene gas, a chemical that speeds up ripening
· Mushroom mold detector
· Ozone filter to be attached to a water- filtration system that could be used by missionaries in Haiti.
· Hand washer, sanitizer and hand dryer in one to eliminate the spread of bacteria by touch.

Come on, chefs! Get involved with your local team, and cheer on kid inventors.