Credit: University Photography

Imagine grilled cumin chicken with a zesty salsa or perhaps some Cajun shrimp slathered in sour cream and guacamole. Now, imagine these tempting dishes wrapped in a new style of tortilla, molded into the shape of an easy-to-fill flattened cone and engineered so that the food juices don't drip on your clothes. Imagine "Wrapidos."

For the fourth consecutive year, the Cornell University Food Product Development Team, made of undergraduate students and graduate, has been named as one of six finalists in the Institute of Food Technologists' (IFT) Student Association 1998 Product Development Competition, to be held in Atlanta June 20-22. This year's novel Cornell food product is called Wrapidos, which the creators describe as a flour tortilla-style meal-wrapper perfect for holding any kind of food.

After winning the prestigious national food championship in 1995 and 1996, the Cornell food team took honorable mention in last year's finals with Swiss Crepes, a fortified, shelf-stable breakfast snack. The 1995 team won with Pizza Pop-Ups, a toaster-ready pizza, and in 1996 with Stir-Ins, a pencil-shaped cookie sealed partially with heat-resistant chocolate and a flavoring for coffee on the tip.

With Wrapidos, the students have designed a tortilla-like product that is formed into the shape of a flattened cone with an edible, water-tight lining and is perfect for leftovers. "We would want to market this toward busy families with small children," says Henry Cortez, a senior and chair of the student team. "It is a preformed tortilla shell sealed at one end with a moisture barrier to help prevent leakage. Meal preparation should be easy."

The Cornell team will be working to improve the product until the competition, which consists of an oral presentation and questioning by judges, a poster display, a product sampling by the industry judges and a detailed written report. Sponsored by M&M/Mars, the IFT competition will award a $1,000 top prize to the winning team.

In February, the team submitted a five-page report to the IFT Student Association. (For judging purposes, reports do not indicate the submitting school.) The report included the product concept, market potential, the product formulation, a description of the product packaging, an explanation of the production process and a report on the safety and quality assurance program.

"A lot of brainstorming went into this product," says team member Melanie Tudhope. Cortez, a veteran returning from last year's team, thinks the product Wrapidos has a lot of market potential. "We're really excited about this product. It covers the fad market and the trend market -- that is the fad market for tortilla wraps and the trend toward the popularity of ethnic food," he says.

Cornell students participating on the team are: Meredith Agle, Eden, N.Y.; Jenna Aronson, Long Beach, N.Y.; Sharon Bender, Wilmette, Ill.; Ellen Charny, Pittsburgh; Kwan-Han Jimmy Chen, Holmdel, N.J.; Ji Hwa Choi, Lansdale, Pa.; Cortez, El Paso, Texas; Matt Ehn, Clovis, Calif.; Genevieve Johnson, Troy, Mich.; Greg Kapp, Valhalla, N.Y.; Tracy Luckow, Montreal; Liz Martin, Charlton, N.Y.; Meghan McCamey, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; Nandini Nagarajan, Lousiville, Ky., Sam Nugen, LaGrangeville, N.Y.; Winny Setiady, Jakarta; Tudhope, Rutland, Vt.; Liang Xie, Hunan, People's Republic of China; and Laura A. Zimmer, East Berne, N.Y. Joe Regenstein, Cornell professor of food science, is the team's faculty sponsor.

The IFT drew 20 submissions for the competition. This year's five other finalists and their product names are: Iowa State University, S'Morsels; Kansas State University, Chicotillas; Rutgers University, Banana Custard Delights; University of British Columbia, Dinodrops; and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Pro-Crunch.