Dive Brief:
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Clemson University researchers are trying to tap into the communication that goes on between food cells as they start to break down. The researchers' aim is to use the information to come up with smart packaging featuring sensors that can detect when food is beginning to spoil. The sensors would pick up the signals between these cells, which is known as quorum sensing.
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Kay Cooksey and Claudia Ionita of Clemson's food, nutrition and packaging sciences department are using a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to fund the project.
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"We are trying to build a sensor that can detect food spoilage (when it begins). We're trying to improve the detection elements currently on the market," said Ionita, in a press release.
Dive Insight:
Smart packaging that can detect time, temperature, moisture and oxygen has been around for a while and is often used to track medicine, seafood, dairy products and other perishable goods in transit or storage. Typically items are monitored via computers in refrigerated trucks and through handheld devices to help identify and correct potential problems.
According to the Institute of Food Technologists, color-changing tags or labels are being augmented by degradation sensors that measure the decay of an item and will change the color of the entire package in response to chemical changes — or, in other applications, a bar code will fade so the food item can't be scanned and bought.
The ultimate goal is to save money and cut back on food waste. Estimates show 130 billion pounds of food is lost or wasted in the country each year, with the average family tossing out $1,500 worth of groceries. With restaurant food waste included, it amounts to 30% to 40% of the edible food supply.
While smart packaging with sensors can sniff out spoilage in boxed or delivered items, it can't do much to keep prepared foods at in-store delis, salad bars and the like from being wasted. And, even with these sensors as currently conceived, there would still be confusion created from sell-by and use-by dates on perishable items.
It's going to take more time before quorum sensing technology is available for practical, everyday use.