Food Unwrapped (2012) s07e03 Episode Script

1 We Brits are a nation of food lovers.
Oh, my goodness! Hello.
Our supermarkets are jam-packed with products from every - corner of the globe.
- Konnichiwa! But how much do we really know about the journey our food makes to our plates? - Wow! I have never seen anything like it in all my life.
- Oh! The Food Unwrapped team travel all over the world and beyond This is like stepping into the future.
.
.
to reveal the trade secrets behind the food we eat.
Coming up, I'm looking at meat substitutes to see what scientists are cooking up.
It looks like a doner kebab.
I travel to Ecuador and discover how the humble banana could one day save lives.
Wow.
Look at that, that's incredible.
- So there is only just a handful of cells infected.
- Yeah.
And I wonder why some crisps are green and not golden.
Five out of ten for style, but ten out of ten for effort.
All right, it's not Strictly! First, meat substitutes.
There's a smell and a sound that has been the undoing of many a vegetarian.
A bacon butty or a bowl of mung beans -- which would you choose? But coming up with a vegetarian product that passes for meat has long been the food industry's Holy Grail.
Oh, hello, Dale.
Nutritionist and chef Dale Pinnock is going to help me cook up some of the meat substitutes that have been popular through the decades.
Now, Dale, I am pretty familiar with meat-free substitutes because I was vegetarian for 20 years.
- This first one that I'm using, TVP - Oh, yeah, I've eaten that.
Texturised vegetable protein.
This is actually soy-derived and I thought we could knock up a chilli.
Right, let's go.
In the 1960s, TVP, or textured vegetable protein, was top of the meat-free pops.
That is not bad.
By the 1980s, Quorn was all the meat-free rage.
It comes from a fungus grown by a process of fermentation.
Then, in the 1990s, these veggie sausages replaced Quorn as the top product on the meat-free shelves.
Then came these thin rashers of bacon, or facon, made from things like marinated tofu.
Oh, they look like strips of plasticine.
- But, you know, they smell kind of smoky.
- Yeah.
Let's see which one of these meat substitutes tops the charts today.
Roll up, roll up.
What would you like? - I'll try the chilli, please.
- I'll have the meat-free burger, please.
There we go, sir.
How's that? I don't like the texture.
It is, like, a little bit softer than mince.
- Almost like a sort of porridgey feeling.
- I love it.
You are going to have to top me up, actually.
A hot dog sounds good.
Thank you.
I like that, actually.
But just not the same experience as a sausage, you know? - Very different texture.
- So far, a mixed reception.
But now for the big one.
Can I interest you in a bacon butty? - Yes, of course.
Why not? - Right, there we go.
Ketchup there.
I would be able to tell that it wasn't bacon.
- I'm going to, yeah, turn that down.
- Does that look like bacon to you? It doesn't look like bacon but it doesn't look like anything.
The problem is that meat and plants have a completely different cell structure, so it is very hard to mimic the texture of meat with a product made from plants.
Until now.
I am off to the Netherlands to see a new pioneering product that has been given the name plant meat.
Let's eat some meaty plants.
I have come to the university town of Wageningen, where a team of scientists are using a unique patented technology to create an authentic meat substitute.
- Hello, Brigitte.
Kate.
- Hi.
Brigitte Deckers is one of the research scientists on this ground-breaking project.
This isn't a very foodie environment.
No, no, we're still mainly focusing on the research here.
The muscles and flesh in meat provide its distinct texture.
The team's mission has been to develop a new technology that gives plant products the same sinewy structure as muscles and make them satisfying to eat.
- Are you chief meat-maker? - Yes, I am.
- Are you? Brilliant.
OK.
Right, how do we make meat from vegetables? This is protein powder.
Basically, what we use here is soy and gluten.
- 'It is the colour of porridge.
' It's a bit gluey.
- It is.
'Not very appetising.
' Now we add some colorants as well, some hydrated proteins.
Oh, it's like Play-Doh.
Gosh.
'To make this Play-Doh feel more like a pork chop, 'it's pumped under pressure into a machine that has been 'specially developed by the university.
' You're not going to get this in many vegetarians' kitchens.
'They hope this invention can help address a global problem.
' Why are you doing it? The world population is increasing and we cannot afford to make so much meat for everybody.
It is really not sustainable, if you look at land use, water use, all those kind of things.
Oh! 'In a process that is closely guarded by the university, 'the mixture of water, wheat gluten and soya protein 'is put into this cylinder.
' The inner cylinder, as you can see, is rotating, and the outer cylinder remains still.
'The mixture is then put under mild pressure and smashed together using 'rotating plates.
Gluten and soya are like oil and water -- 'they won't mix.
'But the strands of soya and gluten are forced to wrap around 'each other under the pressure and rotating action of the machine.
'This creates a firm, fibrous structure with the texture of meat.
' So we are really trying to come closer and closer to the real texture and perception that people have with real meat with this new technology.
'After 30 minutes in the cylinder, the plant meat is cooked to a T.
' It looks like a doner kebab.
You just want to go 'Once it is out of the machine, 'the product has a texture more like steak.
' - That is astonishing.
Can I try some? - Sure.
The texture is very good.
It is just like meat.
The taste Here with this process, we are mainly focusing on texture.
The taste comes afterwards.
Later, I will visit a veggie butcher who is developing flavours that can make this plant meat taste as well as look like the real thing.
That tastes really good.
And I will see if his version of a sausage roll will trick the taste buds of these badass barbecue boys.
It's hard.
I don't know.
Next, bananas.
We have looked at bananas before on Food Unwrapped, but they are back in the headlines again.
Amazingly, the banana is being used in medical research and is being hailed as a potential life-saver.
I know there's lots of vitamins in them and stuff like that, so - I believe they have got lots of potassium.
- Magnesium, maybe? Someone told me it's good for the immune system.
When I had a wart on my finger, to wrap it in a banana skin, but it made no difference whatsoever.
I am off to meet a man who knows a thing or two about banana botany.
- Hi, there, you must be Alastair.
- Hi, you must be Jimmy.
- Pleased to meet you.
- I've come to see your bananas.
Great, well, not everyone says that.
This is great.
Lovely and warm.
It is like a little mini Garden of Eden, isn't it? Dr Alastair Culham is the lead botanist at the University of Reading and studies thousands of plant specimens, many with powerful properties.
More than 50% of modern drugs are originally derived from plants.
But there are many that have been known for a long time.
We have the rosy periwinkle here from Madagascar -- this plant helps treat childhood leukaemia.
- It is a very powerful anti-cancer drug.
- That is incredible.
- Beautiful little periwinkle like that.
- Yeah.
'There are over 400,000 different plant species on the planet 'so the potential for future medicinal cures is huge.
' So, what is it in the banana, then, that can help fight diseases? So, bananas have a compound called a lectin in that actually will bind to viruses and stop their activity.
That's incredible.
So the humble banana can help fight some very serious diseases? Absolutely.
Are there any other plants that contain these lectins as well? Yes, so the small snowdrop, something we know from our winter gardens, has lectins in.
But that's slow-growing, small, expensive to harvest.
The good thing about the banana is it is already a crop plant -- we know how to grow it in large quantity, we've got the means to harvest it, so there's plenty of raw material to extract the lectin from.
I need to find out more about this incredible fruit, and where better to start than the largest banana exporter in the world, Ecuador? We land in Ecuador's biggest city, Guayaquil, and head 70km east towards one of the country's biggest banana plantations where I am meeting owner Jorge Miron.
- Welcome to San Jose.
- Thank you very much.
I'm here to see your bananas.
- Can we see them? - Yes, of course.
- Let's do it.
So the bananas are growing here.
It is huge! It takes nine months for these banana plants to reach maturity and bear fruit.
Why have you covered them in this? I see, so it's not like you are pre-wrapping them ready for the supermarket, it is actually protection.
So, what sort of insects would come and eat your bananas, then? Any little pests that come in will have a go.
- Can we see this one being harvested? - Yes, of course.
- Great.
Bananas may have a tough skin but their rich, sugary fruit is vulnerable to pests such as caterpillars.
The banana lectin acts as a natural pesticide against these intruders and the diseases they carry.
So, tell me where.
Bosh! 3,000 of these bunches are harvested every day.
Once cut, the bananas naturally produce a sticky latex to seal the wound.
This has to be washed off first under a power shower, then in a plunge pool.
So the bananas are just floating along.
Finally, they are prepped and boxed before they can begin their long journey to the UK.
Coming up, I am amazed by some cutting-edge medical science with banana lectin right at the heart of it.
- It doesn't stick.
- I see.
No sticking, no infection, no problems.
Next, green crisps.
Why do you occasionally get a green crisp in your bag? Oh, yeah, I know.
- I hate when that happens.
- What is that? I think it is just where the potato is a little bit bruised.
- Do I need to worry about it, or can I just? - No, definitely not.
I never see a green crisp.
They used to be all over the show when I was a kid.
What makes a crisp green and why have they become so elusive? I have come to Norfolk to meet farmer Toby Mermagen to find out.
- Come with me and I will show you what we do.
- OK.
Farmer Toby grows his potatoes exclusively for making crisps.
When does the issue of green crisps start? Is it here in the field? Absolutely, because potatoes go green due to exposure to light.
This potato, as you can see, has gone green on the top - because it has been sitting like that.
- Right.
The green part of the potato is chlorophyll, from light exposure, but it contains a chemical called solanine.
Solanine is a toxin and if you eat a lot of it, it will make you feel not very well.
- Right, so it is actually toxic.
- It is toxic, yes.
- OK.
Solanine is the same poison produced by deadly nightshade.
It acts as a natural pesticide, protecting the plants.
It may be poisonous, but you would have to eat the equivalent of one whole, large, entirely green potato to feel any ill effects.
And let's face it, who is going to do that? Toby's farm supplies a staggering 250 million potatoes each year to a high-end crisp manufacturer.
Oh, right, people.
Hello.
'Inside the tent, every single 'potato gets the once-over by a team of sorters.
'Their sole objective is to spot any substandard spuds, - 'including the green ones.
' - There you go.
- So, a little bit of green on the end of that one.
- Right.
Which we chuck away.
These discarded potatoes get sent off to local farms for animal feed.
Only the ones that pass muster are destined to become crisps.
- That is a load of spuds.
- Yeah.
So, how many potatoes would go into a typical bag of crisps? One average-sized potato would typically make one 40g packet of crisps.
'But with over 250 million spuds a year, 'a few sneaky green ones still slip through the net.
' Have you ever ran up here? That's what I want to do right now.
But I won't, obviously, because I'm a grown-up.
Later, I see the lengths the crisp manufacturers go to in order to banish those pesky green crisps.
That's out.
'Back to green crisps.
' What is that? I think it's just where the potato's a little bit bruised.
Turns out those occasional green ones aren't bruises, - but start in the fields.
- Potatoes go green due to exposure to light.
I've come to the crisp factory who buy all of Toby's tatties to see just how they keep those green crisps at bay.
The main man here is Chris Barnard.
Right, OK.
Chris has lots of safeguards to make sure no green potatoes get turned into crisps.
So this is what you want to get rid of? - Yeah, that's out.
- And how are these graded out at this stage? Through the system, right as they come in.
Once they've been through the machine, they're assessed again by hand, so even the most determined green potato would be hard-pressed to slip under the radar.
- Then these scrutinised spuds hit the fryers.
- And there you go.
Look at that, it's amazing.
The potatoes are sliced directly into the oil to ensure a better class of crunch.
This guy is making sure that we get plenty of oil in between the slices so they don't stick together.
It's this part of the process that means they can call their crisps hand-cooked.
And I'm going to try my hand at it.
Oh, it is like a workout.
- Do you want me to do it? - No, I'm all right.
Five out of ten for style, though, but ten out of ten for effort.
All right, it's not Strictly.
What do you think? - I think I'm quite happy with that.
- Yeah.
- And they taste great straight out of the fryer.
- They're lovely, aren't they? Millions of crisps then face the ultimate in dud-detection.
This machine takes pictures of each and every one at the speed of light, rejecting any remaining greenies.
So, the chances of getting a green crisp in one of these bags - is pretty negligible, isn't it? - I would say less than negligible.
And even if you do spot a green crisp, remember, you'd have to eat dozens and dozens to get a dodgy tummy.
Earlier, I got under the skin of bananas in Ecuador and discovered they're being used in ground-breaking medical research.
Bananas have a compound called lectin in, that actually will bind to viruses and stop their activity.
I want to find out more about this lectin and its anti-viral properties, so I've come to the University of Reading to meet a scientist who specialises in viruses.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- Hi, you must be Ben.
- Pleased to meet you.
- I'm Jim.
Let's get you in the lab, come on.
Dr Ben Neuman is a virologist, who has tested the anti-viral properties of bananas.
Well, I want to find out how banana lectin can help prevent diseases that can infect humans.
So what can you show me? Banana lectin, or BanLec for short, is a scientifically isolated version of the chemical found in the fruit.
And with the power of Velcro, Dr Neuman is going to show me exactly how it works.
- Imagine that is a cell.
- So this is the cell.
That's the cell.
And here's your virus.
Now a virus can do one thing, it can stick to cells.
Just like that.
But what the BanLec is doing is it's covering over - the outside of the virus.
- So the black discs are BanLec? Yeah.
And if it does its job and covers every single part of the virus, the virus doesn't stick.
- I see.
- No sticking, no infection, no problems.
So the BanLec sticks to the outside of the virus and becomes an inhibitor, stops it It's an all-purpose virus neutraliser.
Ballgames over, time to see BanLec in action in an experiment with some butterfly cells.
So the butterfly cells go in, and what do you add with the butterfly cells? Then we're going to put BanLec on top of the butterfly cells, and then last, we're going to put the virus in.
The BanLec should prevent this deadly butterfly virus from attacking the cells underneath.
Let's see if it works.
First, Dr Neuman shows me some butterfly cells that have not been treated with BanLec.
You'll see this entire field turn green if all the cells are infected, - or if none of them are infected, they'll just turn black.
- OK.
Let's see.
- Here we go.
Boom.
- Look at that.
You can see all these little green dots.
What's that telling us? Every single cell in this well got infected.
This virus has gone on a rampage and absolutely infected everything.
So what happens, then, if you add BanLec, then? - What's the outcome for the cells, then? - So, let's have a look.
A quick change of slides and all is revealed.
- You see, there.
- Look at that, that's incredible.
There's only just a handful of cells infected.
Yeah.
Maybe one out of 100 cells got infected.
And it hasn't been able to spread, it hasn't been able to do anything.
And if you apply it to people, and it works, then this is a product - that could be wheeled out against umpteen different viruses.
- Absolutely.
This is a barrier against the flu, a lot of sexually transmitted viruses, yeah.
People will be happier and healthier.
Dr Neuman believes the potential of BanLec is enormous, but creating a drug is a long way off.
Tests so far have been limited to animal cell tissue, but he's hopeful that human trials may only be a couple of years away.
And if they're a success, medical science is going to need a lot of lectin-loaded bananas.
I'm investigating the meat-substitute market.
Does that look like bacon to you? It doesn't look like bacon, but it doesn't look like anything.
And I've discovered that a Dutch university has come up with a brand-new alternative to meat, made entirely from plants.
- It looks like a doner kebab.
You just want to go - Yeah.
This new meat substitute isn't on sale yet, but just up the road there's a very unusual butcher's shop, who've been working with the university to make and sell other plant meat products.
Chef Paul Bom works for this ground-breaking vegetarian butcher's.
I've been to the university, and they have nailed the texture -- but the flavour, it's not quite there.
- I have to do that.
- That's your bit? - That's my work.
- Great, let's go and do it.
- OK.
Paul's concocted a top-secret plant-based flavour to create a realistic meaty taste.
- What is it? - It is plant-based material.
You ferment it, let it yeast.
- What plant did you use to make this? - It's Well, of course a little secret, but wheat and soy and corn and rice.
- OK.
Smells meaty.
- Normally you don't taste it like this.
Yeah, told you so.
- That is like nibbling a stock cube.
- Yeah.
- But this is a stock-cube taste derived entirely from plants.
- Yes.
To make burgers, we add this special flavour to Paul's plant-based mince.
- OK, what do we do, just squish it into patties? - Yeah.
Here's hoping I'm in for a treat.
- That tastes really good.
- Thanks.
I want to see how this goes down with a bunch of meat-eaters.
All right.
So, back home, I've come to Brixton in South London to see what the team at a local barbecue diner make of some of Paul's meat-free products.
Meet Christian, Warren and Daniel -- three of the coolest carnivores on the block.
So, we've got a Colombian, we've got a South African, - and we've got an Australian.
- It's the start of a joke.
- Oh, my goodness.
No, it's like the republic of meat.
Even sniffing a veggie sausage could ruin their image.
So let's see if they're taken in by Paul's plant-based products.
I'm going to give you each a blindfold.
- Right, are you chaps hungry for a bit of meat? - Yeah.
- Right, OK.
'First, the vegetarian butcher's plant-based chicken.
' - Right, Daniel, what did you think to that? - Not meat.
- Really? - It's got a weird taste.
- Tasted slightly mushroom-y.
'Hmm.
Bad start.
'Perhaps this chicken will be better in a curry.
'Next, Paul's burgers that I tucked into in Holland.
' - Decent.
- You liked it? - It wasn't bad.
- OK, how about you, Christian? - What did you make of that? - Not bad.
- 'Not bad indeed.
'Considering it's a non-beefburger.
'Now, butcher Paul's version of sausage rolls.
' - Amazing.
- What do you think it is in there? - Some sort of pork sausage.
'A triumph! 'None of these meatheads were fooled by Paul's plant-meat 'chicken, but his burgers got the thumbs up, and his sausage rolls 'have gone down an absolute storm, with the right texture and flavour.
' Are you surprised? If that's the start of what they're producing, as a base product, I don't think it's that bad.
Of course, you could just eat vegetables if you want a vegetarian diet, but wouldn't it be great if the bacon butty was next in line for a meat-free makeover? Next time, I look into the steep cost of almond butter.
- How much is this huge pile worth? - £1.
5 million.
I head to Spain and Portugal to seek out the differences between sherry and port.
That's already tasting better.
And I man up to chopping onions without tears.
Anyone crying? You big girl!