Quality Indicator for Intelligent Food Packaging

现代食品分配系统非常复杂，通常以食品生产者处理的大量食品为特征。这一趋势，加上消费者对高质量和最低限度加工产品的偏好，导致人们越来越关注食品的安全和质量。尽管食品包装上仍然广泛使用有效期作为新鲜度指标，但这些静态信息并不有效，因为它们不能真正反映产品的质量，也没有考虑到在分销过程中可能发生的物理化学和微生物滥用。

Modern food distribution systems are highly complex and often characterized by large quantities of food product handled by food producers. This trend, along with consumer preference for highly quality and minimally processed products, has resulted in growing concerns on the safety and quality of foods. Although expiry dates are still widely being used on food packages as indicators of freshness, these static information are not efficient since they do not truly reflect the quality of the product, nor do they take into the account of potential physicochemical and microbiological abuses occurred during distribution. To address these issues, the proposed project will develop advanced indicators that are integral of package structure (e.g., labels, prints), to reveal the real time quality and safety of the food products. We will focus on the detection of volatile compounds produce by deteriorating food products or spoilage microorganisms, by using array indicators fabricated from nanofiber or nanobead carriers. Our goal is to develop an indicator that provides visual feedback to inform consumer on the overall acceptability of the products. Expanding this concept further, by using a portable reading device, such as a cell phone camera, our goal is also to develop an array indicator that could provide more specific information on the nature of spoilage, such as the microorganisms involved. From the perspective of a food producer, the envisaged technology is beneficial to prevent consumers from purchasing unacceptable products to protect brand name and assure continuous customer royalty. Also, early detection of compromised products will be essential to prevent costly product recall and lawsuit when injury occurred. From a public health standpoint, there is a need to detect compromised products rapidly and reliably throughout the distribution chain, which will be beneficial to prevent the outbreak of food borne illnesses. The use of dynamic freshness indicator, rather than static expiry date label, could result in the reduction of food waste, indirectly bringing economical, environmental, and health benefits in Canada. Conceivably, the indicator can be adopted as test kits for rapid analysis in laboratory setting.