uTINTsil
P&G
Art Director: Cerinn Park
Communication Arts Advertising Competition Winner
Creativity International Design & Advertising Awards Silver
NY Advertising Arts Festival Shortlist
Featured on Ads of the World
One Show Young Ones ADC Merit
Newhouse School of Public Communication Article
Problem:
In the US, 1 in 13 children has a food allergy. That means a large percentage of kids K-12 are at risk of an allergy attack due to accidental food cross-contamination.
Solution:
To ease parents’ anxieties about school-provided meals and snacks, Cerinn and I created uTINTsil, plastic utensils that can detect if food has specific allergens.
HOW IT WORKS
When the molecular polymers in uTINTsil detect specific allergen proteins, the utensil’s chromatic technology triggers, changing the utensil’s color. The color change will visually indicate that the food is unsafe to eat in a fast and easy way.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The nature of school-provided food, whether it be prepackaged snacks or meals made by lunch staff, makes it difficult to tell if the food has been contaminated. P&G will provide schools with uTINTsil products so kids can enjoy their lunch and parents have peace of mind.
THE TECHNOLOGY
uTINTsil is made of a specially designed plastic material that uses chromatic technology and molecularly imprinted polymer patented in 2018.
Molecular Polymer Printing
Lots of big words, but basically uTINTsil’s utensils are created with monomers (teeny tiny) cavities that match the proteins in specific foods. So when a child uses uTINTsil, any proteins in the food will fill the cavity imprinted in the utensil.
Chromatic Technology
You might have encountered chromatic technology in color-changing spoons (think Fro-Yo). In uTINTsil, the color changes if cavities are filled by food proteins. It’s a quick and simple trigger that lets kids know their food isn’t safe.
