The 15th edition of Euroinvent, the largest invention fair in Eastern Europe, has announced its winners this weekend. The Scientific Senate of the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for Romania’s Development awarded a distinction this year for scientific creativity in the field of future nutrition.
Over the two days of this year’s Euroinvent fair held in Iași and organized by the ‘Gheorghe Asachi’ Technical University and the Romanian Inventors Forum in partnership with the Scientific Senate, over 700 projects from Romania and abroad were received and evaluated. This year, the award for creativity went to a team of researchers and innovators from Thailand at Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna Lampang, who proposed an ecological food project, a plant-based burger made with cricket flour.
The cricket flour burger was appreciated as a product suitable for future nutrition because it contains sustainable and healthy ingredients according to the latest studies on plant proteins.
What the cricket flour burger contains:
- Buns made from rice treated with butterfly pea flower (a tropical plant) that gives the rice a blue color. The rice is gluten-free with a low glycemic index, and the obtained buns are semi-prepared for quick burger assembly. The butterfly pea flower is a plant rich in antioxidants with significant amounts of catechin, as well as a series of anti-inflammatory and immune-stimulating components.
- Patties made from cricket flour. Cricket powder has a higher level of protein than meat and provides essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals to the body.
The Scientific Senate of the FDVDR stands alongside the scientific community through actions and projects aimed at contributing to the support and promotion of research and innovation in Romania. Since 2016, it has awarded prizes at the Euroinvent fair, supporting innovation in various fields. We’re talking about awarded projects such as: the smart case that charges the mobile phone with renewable energy, MANUTEX – a mechatronic glove for hand rehabilitation in cases of stroke, or the project of a respiratory function simulator in an intelligent mannequin for practicing first aid and resuscitation techniques.