Photosynthesis in the 'fridge?

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Mar 3rd 2006 @ 6:22PM

The do-it-yourselfers over at Make recently fielded an interesting question about whether or not LEDs in refrigerators can stimulate photosynthesis in fruits and vegetables. The idea was sparked by a Mitsubishi home refrigerator with orange LED lights in the crisper. The claim is that certain wavelengths of light will help keep produce fresher and maintain its nutritional value longer by triggering photosynthesis. The question posed to Make is, "Does this work and if so can't we just do it at home in our own refrigerators?" So far, the only reply comes from The Food Geek, who seems reasonably confident that it could work. As a side note, that Mitsubishi fridge also comes with UV light that will supposedly kill bacteria in your ice.

Filed Under: Science, On the Blogs, Ingredients, New Products
Tags: led, make, mitsubishi, photosynthesis, refrigerator, vegetables

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-03-2006 @10:24PM Brian J. Geiger said... Well, a bit more accurately, I can think of a justification for it working, and I am reasonably confident that it could be tested. Would make for an interesting experiment, at the very least.

=Brian
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