Development of a quality assurance CO2 leak detector for modified atmosphere packaging

开发用于气调包装的质量保证 CO2 检漏仪

• 批准号: 79798
• 金额: $ 7.62万
• 依托单位: INSIGNIA TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Small Business Research Initiative
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=79798
• 关键词: Development; quality; assurance; CO2; leak

This project addresses the theme "Enhancing the Benefits and Value of our Natural Resources" in the government's Clean Growth Strategy, targeting the reduction of food waste and associated carbon emissions and greenhouses gases. Unnecessary food waste is a significant problem which has substantial cost and environmental impact associated with it. One challenge the industry faces in the fight against waste is ensuring food doesn't spoil in the supply chain before the end of the shelf life. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is used widely throughout the food industry to help extend shelf life by preventing the growth of aerobic spoilage microbes. It involves replacing air within the pack with a carbon dioxide (CO2) rich/oxygen deficient gas mixture which keeps the food fresher for longer by inhibiting the growth of spoilage microbes. However, a major problem with MAP is the presence of leaks within the packaging, which results in the CO2 rich protective atmosphere being disturbed. This results in premature food spoilage as the growth of the aerobic spoilage microbes is no longer inhibited, which ultimately leads to food being wasted. This project aims to develop a cost effective, colour-changing indicator that can be on every pack to quickly identify if a leak is present. Such a technology will allow the manufacturer/packer to continually monitor the packaging process and identify problem packs which can then be reworked rather than being wasted. The economic and environmental benefits of this technology for the food industry are significant, as wastage will be reduced, and costs associated with current expensive and unreliable testing methods can be cut. As with many sectors, COVID-19 has impacted the food industry and is changing the way in which it operates. Due to restrictions posed by COVID-19, such as social distancing measures, food production facilities are having to adapt to operating with less staff and enhanced safety/hygiene protocols. To account for this, there is a move towards using more automated processes to increase operating efficiency and reduce the resource required to perform the necessary quality checks etc. As a result, time and cost savings will become ever more important and an innovation like this, which can improve efficiency, save cost and address food waste reduction, will help the industry with a sustainable economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

该项目以政府清洁增长战略中的“提高自然资源的效益和价值”为主题，旨在减少食物浪费和相关的碳排放和温室气体。不必要的食物浪费是一个严重的问题，它会带来巨大的成本和环境影响。该行业在打击浪费方面面临的一个挑战是确保食物在保质期结束前不会在供应链中变质。气调包装（MAP）广泛应用于整个食品行业，通过防止需氧腐败微生物的生长来帮助延长保质期。它包括用富二氧化碳/缺氧混合气体替换包装内的空气，通过抑制腐败微生物的生长使食物保持更长时间的新鲜。然而，MAP的一个主要问题是包装内存在泄漏，这导致富含CO2的保护性气氛受到干扰。这导致食物过早腐败，因为好氧腐败微生物的生长不再受到抑制，最终导致食物浪费。该项目旨在开发一种具有成本效益的变色指示剂，可以在每个包装上快速识别是否存在泄漏。这种技术将使制造商/包装商能够不断监测包装过程，并确定问题包，然后可以返工，而不是浪费。这项技术对食品工业的经济和环境效益是显著的，因为浪费将减少，并且可以削减与目前昂贵和不可靠的测试方法相关的成本。与许多行业一样，COVID-19影响了食品行业，并正在改变其运营方式。由于COVID-19所带来的限制，例如社交距离措施，食品生产设施必须适应以较少的员工和加强的安全/卫生协议运营。因此，有一种趋势是使用更多的自动化流程来提高运营效率并减少执行必要的质量检查等所需的资源。因此，节省时间和成本将变得更加重要，而像这样的创新可以提高效率，节省成本并解决减少食物浪费的问题，将有助行业从COVID-19疫情中实现可持续经济复苏。