Students create edible Tastee Tape for mess-free burritos and tacos

Engineering has never looked this good, and that’s because students at Johns Hopkins University have created the ultimate tool for keeping burritos and tacos intact.

Food lovers, meet Tastee Tape.

The university said that chemical and biomolecular engineering seniors Tyler Guarino, Marie Eric, Rachel Nie, and Erin Walsh teamed up to create the end-of-year project and presented it during Engineering Design Day earlier this month.

Basically, they created an edible tape that keeps all the fixings in a burrito, taco, gyro or wrap. It was inspired by their fill of messy lunches — something people everywhere, especially in the tortilla mecca of San Antonio, have likely experienced.

The Tastee Tape includes “an edible adhesive comprising a food-grade fibrous scaffold and an organic adhesive,” the university states in a news release.

The exact formula, though, is secret because the students are applying for a patent.

“What I can say is that all its ingredients are safe to consume, are food grade, and are common food and dietary additives,” Guarino told the university.

To use it, the tape comes affixed to sheets of waxed paper, and people can simply remove the tape, wet it and paste it on the food. The tape strips are rectangular and no bigger than 2 inches.

The students said they tested out the strips on “too many burritos to count” and they have enough strength to keep a large burrito together.

In the photo below, blue dye was added to the Tastee Tape to show its use. Typically, the tape is clear.

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