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

气调包装（MAP）广泛应用于食品包装行业。它涉及到更换空气中的包与二氧化碳丰富/氧气不足的气体混合物，保持食品新鲜更长的时间，通过抑制腐败的微生物。然而，如果包装中存在意外泄漏，则保存机制被破坏，食物更快地变质。泄漏的存在并不总是显而易见的，或者消费者意识到其重要性。该项目将开发一种简单的变色标签，快速提供有关食品包装完整性的信息。这种廉价的指标将提高食品安全，减少浪费，并将大大改善目前在整个食品包装行业使用的质量保证程序。

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is widely used throughout the food packaging industry. It involves replacing air within the pack with a CO2 rich/O2 deficient gas mixture which keeps the food fresher for longer by inhibiting spoilage by microorganisms. However if an accidental leak is present in the packaging, the preservation mechanism is disrupted and food spoils quicker. The presence of a leak is not always obvious, or its significance realised by consumers. This project will develop a simple colour-changing label which quickly provides information about the integrity of food packaging. Such inexpensive indicators will increase food safety, reduce waste and will vastly improve the quality assurance procedures currently used throughout the food packaging industry.