Edible QR Code Reveals If Your Drink Is The Real Deal Or A Counterfeit

Image via Purdue University

QR codes are ubiquitous, but researchers are taking things a step further—they’re dropping them into your drinks.

Biomedical engineers at Purdue University and the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences in South Korea have invented an “edible QR code” designed to verify the authenticity of high-quality spirits like whiskeys, or even pharmaceuticals.

The tag, which is fluorescent and made of silk, can be dunked into an alcoholic drink and scanned with a smartphone camera. The drinker would then be shown information confirming if the concoction is legitimate or tampered with.

To make the QR tags, the scientists use fluorescent silk from the cocoons of specialized silkworms and turn it into a fabric. The resulting biopolymer can be altered to sport a series of patterns that hold information.

As icky as this sounds, the tags are edible and can be swallowed together with the drink. They also won’t affect the taste of the spirit, the team asserts.

The edible QR codes serve as a security measure to tell consumers if their liquor is pure and authentic. The researchers, who have published their findings in the ACS Central Science scientific journal, imagine the tags one day accompanying whiskey bottles.

In a broader application, the QR codes could even be used to suss out fake medication.

“Online pharmacies sell controlled substances to teens. People can buy counterfeit opioids easily. This work is extremely important for patients and buyers in addressing this issue,” says Young Kim, associate head for research and an associate professor in Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.

[via Futurism and Purdue University, images via Purdue University]