Let's eat! Students make it to food finals -- again

A Wrapido, developed by Cornell's student Food Product Development Team. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

By Blaine P. Friedlander

Imagine grilled cumin chicken with a zesty salsa, or perhaps some Cajun shrimp slathered in sour cream and guacamole. Now, imagine these tempting meals wrapped in a new style of tortilla, molded into the shape of an easy-to-fill cone and engineered so the food juices won't drip on your clothes.

Imagine "Wrapidos."

For the fourth consecutive year, a Cornell Food Product Development Team, made up of undergraduate and graduate students, has been named one of six finalists in the Institute of Food Technologists' (IFT) Student Association Product Development Competition, to be held in Atlanta June 20 to 22. This year's novel Cornell food product is called Wrapidos, which the creators describe as a flour tortilla-style meal-wrapper, perfect for holding any kind of food.

After winning the prestigious national food championship in 1995 and 1996, the Cornell food team took honorable mention in last year's finals with Swiss Crepes, a fortified, shelf-stable breakfast snack. The team won in 1995 with Pizza Pop-Ups, a toaster-ready pizza, and in 1996 with Stir-Ins, a pencil-shaped cookie with heat-resistant chocolate and a flavoring on the tip for dunking in coffee.

With Wrapidos, the students have designed a product they say is perfect for leftovers.

"We would want to market this toward busy families with small children," said Henry Cortez, a senior and chair of the student team. "It is a pre-formed tortilla shell, sealed at one end with a moisture barrier to help prevent leakage. Meal preparation should be easy."

The Cornell team will be working to improve the product until the competition, which consists of an oral presentation and questioning by food industry judges, a poster display, a product sampling by the judges and a detailed written report. Sponsored by M&M/Mars, the IFT competition will award a $1,000 top prize to the winning team.

The IFT drew 20 collegiate submissions for the 1998 competition. This year's other five finalists and their products' names are: Iowa State University, "S'Morsels"; Kansas State University, "Chicotillas"; Rutgers University, "Banana Custard Delights"; University of British Columbia, "Dinodrops"; and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, "Pro-Crunch."

In February, the Cornell team submitted a five-page report to the IFT Student Association. (For purposes of unbiased judging ,
reports do not indicate the name of the submitting school.) The report included the product concept, market potential, the product formulation, a description of the product packaging, an explanation of the production process and a report on the safety and quality assurance program.

"A lot of brainstorming went into this product," said Melanie Tudhope, a graduate student member of the team.

Cortez, a veteran returning from last year's team, thinks Wrapidos has a lot of market potential. "We're really excited about this product. It covers the fad market and the trend market -- that is the fad market for tortilla wraps and the trend toward the popularity of ethnic food," he said.

Cornell students participating on the team are: Meredith Agle of Eden, N.Y.; Jenna Aronson of Long Beach, N.Y.; Sharon Bender of Wilmette, Ill.; Ellen Charny of Pittsburgh; Kwan-Han Jimmy Chen of Holmdel, N.J.; Ji Hwa Choi of Lansdale, Pa.; Cortez of El Paso, Texas; Matt Ehn of Clovis, Calif.; Genevieve Johnson of Troy, Mich.; Greg Kapp of Valhalla, N.Y.; Tracy Luckow of Montreal; Liz Martin of Charlton, N.Y.; Meghan McCamey of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Nandini Nagarajan of Louisville, Ky.; Sam Nugen of LaGrangeville, N.Y.; Winny Setiady of Jakarta; Tudhope of Rutland, Vt.; Liang Xie of Hunan, People's Republic of China; and Laura A. Zimmer of East Berne, N.Y.

Joe Regenstein, Cornell professor of food science, is the team's faculty sponsor.