If you open the fridge at home, try one unpleasant sensation due to the bad smell given off by some spoiled food, place a cork stopper in the middle of the refrigerator it won’t help you to eliminate that unpleasant smell. In fact, it is thought that cork can help us absorb bad smells, even those that persist for several days, but it is a false belief. To date, there are no scientific studies that demonstrate that a cork stopper can eliminate odors effectively. It’s true, cork is a porous material and it can absorb some gaseous substances, but this only happens in particular conditions, very different from those of a refrigerator. To really eliminate odors you need specific materials, such as activated carbonor something much simpler: clean and remove the source of the problem.
Cork: a natural “sponge”, with limits
Cork is a natural material extracted from tree barks. Consisting mainly of suberin and ligninlong polymer molecules that give it strength and elasticity, has a full structure of porous cavities. Precisely the presence of pores, in the collective imagination, suggests that it can behave like one odor sponge. In fact, it is not entirely wrong: some scientific studies, such as the one published by Olivella and colleagues in 2011, demonstrate that the cork can absorb certain molecules, such as organic pollutants or volatile compounds, i.e. what we perceive as odors. But this is where the question needs to be explored further: these properties they work well in the laboratory, not in the fridge at home. In fact, in scientific tests cork is thick shredded or treatedimmersed in liquids or placed in “close contact” with the substances to be absorbed.
In the refrigerator, however, the opposite happens: the odors (in small quantities) are dispersed in the air and a common cork stopper is compact and has little “active” surface capable of absorbing annoying odors. What’s more, the same scientific studies even show that it can absorb and then release aromasinstead of actually retaining and eliminating them, as also demonstrated by a 2017 study published in the journal Flavor and fragrance journal. In short… yes, something holds back, but really too little to change the smell of the fridge.
What really works against odors: activated charcoal and cleaning
When it comes to eliminating odors, the science is much clearer. We need materials specifically designed with a microscopic structure capable of seriously trapping molecules. The most classic case is activated carbon. He has one huge internal surface (full of invisible pores) capable of housing many odorous substances, capturing them effectively and, above all, definitively. A clinical study has shown that activated charcoal significantly reduces odors, often in conjunction with the more common sodium bicarbonate, which however only “accompanies” the action of activated charcoal without replacing its effectiveness. A generic cork stopper it is never proposed as a solution for odors in scientific research.
Using cork may seem like a good move to solve the problem, but it doesn’t stand up to the test of data: cork is porous, yes, but not effective enough to eliminate odors in an environment like the refrigerator. For a fridge without bad smells it is necessary clean regularly (identifying and neutralizing the source), hold i tightly closed foods and, if the problem really persists, go with activated charcoal. The cap? Better to leave it in a good bottle of wine.
