We finally have a useful innovation in the expiration of products thanks to the smartlabel label for food. The company Oscillum Biotechnology, of the Science Park of the Miguel Hernández University in Elche he has achieved the impossible. This goes far beyond the simple current expiration date, since it indicates the state of the food in real time. Warns us while changes its color like a traffic light or a chameleon. In this way, we narrow the fence to waste as well as the Nice to eat you app. How do you measure the degree of putrefaction? We explain it to you!
How is this label possible?
You have found a fillet of beef in the fridge. The package label indicates that it expired yesterday. However, when you smell the meat you do not appreciate anything strange. Maybe it smells stronger than normal but not to the point of being rotten. To do? You shuffle the possibilities while doubt takes hold of you. "Do I eat it so as not to waste it and risk it feeling bad? Throw it in the trash even though maybe I could have eaten it? This was the discussion that resulted in the birth of the smartlabel label for food. We talk about what odor y flavor they are parameters of quality and not of safety.
The first thing is to make it very clear how it works. The smartlabel label for food is composed of a mixture of polymers y chemical sensors. The latter detect decomposing matter when in contact with food. Thus, they find the amount of particles from the putrefaction. The label will change color depending on the number perceived. It sounds simple to the consumer and it is. It's about a intuitive operation that can be used by anyone.
Is the smartlabel for food sustainable?
Indeed, polymers. Perhaps the following question has crossed your mind. How does a product made of plastic can be considered a bulwark of environmental protection? This is not a case of a company that profits from double standards. The label materials are biodegradable and they do not harm the environment. In addition, the compounds used are endorsed by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA).
oscillation It also aims to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. Although it may not seem like it, food waste is the cause of an impressive amount of these. 3.500 million is the number of tons that are released each year as a result of uneaten food.
Obviously food production has a environmental cost. When these are not eaten we are impacting nature in an unnecessary way. We are talking about chilling figures as it wastes up one third of production globally. Specifically, they are 1.700 billion tons of food those that are discarded. If we stop throwing food away, we could stop destroying ecosystems to produce food that will later be thrown away.
When will it come out?
It is planned that the label smart label for food reach the markets in nine months o one year I eat very late. They hope that while the launch of their commercial prototype arrives they can get all the permits. However, this is not enough. The company needs to find a industrial partner powerful that allows them to manufacture them on a large scale. They hope to be able to do it during this period while they pass the controls.
Surely, once they have the go-ahead, brands will be waiting to use them. Such an idea novel it will not go unnoticed. At the moment, it is fully functional in meat y fresh fish. They also work on making it possible with processed foods: hake sticks, sausages, hamburgers, sausages ... One of its medium or long-term objectives is to manufacture them for Precooked foods. The decision responds to an increase in demand for the latter.
The idea is a necessary initiative that will achieve a food sector more ecological y Oenology. It is certain that more and more similar initiatives will come to light. The technology It is advancing by leaps and bounds and we must be prepared because it will eventually change everything. In this case the benefit will be palpable both for the pockets and for the planet Earth.
