Freshness Indicators in Food Packaging

Smart label for perishable product packaging that provides information about the remaining shelf life of the product inside the package. The label is flexible, low cost, and easily discardable at the end of product life. It has a flexible substrate with integrated electronics like sensors, memory, and a microcontroller. The label can be applied externally to the package or inside with separate sensors. It monitors environmental conditions and product aging to estimate remaining shelf life. The label can also detect packaging opening to prevent misuse. The flexible, detachable design reduces waste compared to rigid electronics.

Source

Smart label device for packaging of perishable products that provides an indication of remaining product life. The label is flexible, printable, and made from organic/polymeric materials. It contains sensors, an integrated circuit, and a power supply printed onto a flexible substrate. The sensors detect environmental parameters and product conditions. The label can be applied to the outside of the packaging or inside to monitor the product. It calculates remaining life based on conditions and displays it. The printable electronics allow flexible, low-cost, easy-to-dispose labels for perishable goods.

Source

Communicating freshness data for stored juice using an optical sensor to monitor particle agglomeration. An optical sensor inside a portable juice container detects changes in particle size distribution over time as particles agglomerate. This data is extracted and communicated to the user to indicate juice freshness. The sensor allows monitoring of agglomeration rates that align with decomposition processes. It provides a convenient freshness indicator compared to more complex sensors for monitoring spoilage.

Source

Systems and methods to indicate the elapsed time since a triggering event using nanoparticles, fluorophores, and chromophores. The indicators change color when certain conditions are met, like removing an article from its packaging or reaching a predetermined usage time. The indicators can contain nanoparticles stabilized by capping agents that dissociate in lower trigger concentrations, causing aggregation and color change. Fluorophores can also be used to generate FRET pairs where energy transfer decreases in lower trigger concentrations. Chromophores can change color with pH shifts induced by trigger removal. The indicators can be incorporated into items like contact lenses to provide a visual cue when they have exceeded their recommended usage time.

Source

Freshness monitoring method and monitoring system that can monitor the freshness of food. The method includes a food identification code to identify food sealed within the food receiving space, a gas sensor (200) that generates gas information by sensing gas changed by food within the food receiving space.

Source

Packaging method for monitoring rice freshness using colorimetric sensors added during packaging. The sensors contain chemical dyes that react with volatile compounds generated during rice storage to change color. This allows real-time monitoring of rice freshness by consumers. The sensors are prepared by mixing milled rice with chemical dyes to form a paste. The dye-rice paste is then spread onto a backing material and dried to create the colorimetric sensor.

Source

Elastic food freshness sensor module for packaging and containers that can stretch and conform to food shapes while continuously monitoring freshness. The module contains a stretchable resin base, food freshness sensor, wireless communication unit, battery, and solar cell. The sensor detects gas emissions from food to assess freshness. The module attaches to packaging or containers to monitor food inside. It uses stretchable components and a flexible resin base to allow conforming to the food shape. The sensor, comms, battery, and solar cell are connected to the stretchable base.

Source

Smart packaging indicator made from sustainable materials to detect food spoilage. The indicator is a cellulose paper impregnated with extract of eggplant anthocyanins. It changes color in response to pH and volatile compounds like ammonia and acetic acid. The indicator can be affixed inside food packaging to monitor freshness by dipping it in solutions with different pH levels. The reversible color change allows multiple cycles of detection.

Source

A time-temperature indicator for monitoring microbial spoilage of refrigerated foods that accurately reflects the spoilage kinetics of the food itself. The indicator contains a specific combination of microbes, growth indicators, and growth-affecting substances. By adjusting the concentration of the microbes and growth-affecting substances, the indicator's reaction kinetics can be matched to the spoilage kinetics of the food. This allows the indicator to accurately predict when the food will spoil based on its own spoilage dynamics rather than just temperature.

Source

A low-cost, flexible, paper-based sensor for monitoring freshness of packaged perishable products like food, pharma, and cosmetics. The sensor uses a strip of hydrophilic material like cellulose paper coupled to electrodes on a substrate. When a water-soluble spoilage gas like ammonia is present, it decreases the paper's impedance as ions from the gas dissolve in the paper's water. The sensor can be integrated into product packaging and read wirelessly using a nearby device to provide freshness data.

Source

Indicator device for detecting food spoilage in real time. The device allows unidirectional contact between the food product and an indicator composition. The composition reacts with spoiled food or components secreted by it to produce a detectable signal indicating spoilage. The device can be attached to food packaging or directly to the food item. It allows transient contact to the food to detect spoilage without allowing spoilage to spread back.

Source

Composite indicator label for freshness of fresh prepared meat products that provides real-time, non-destructive, and rapid monitoring of freshness. The label has an outer freshness preservation layer, an indicator layer, and an inner adhesive layer. The preservation layer prevents odor and moisture loss. The indicator layer contains a natural pigment that changes color with putrefaction. The label is prepared using electrospinning and supercritical drying techniques to improve stability, sensitivity, and air permeability. By monitoring the RGB color change, fuzzy logic is used to accurately distinguish meat products with varying freshness levels.

Source

Meal kit packaging with a freshness sensor attached to the plastic bag that allows easy visual determination of freshness. The sensor is attached to the meal kit packaging's inner plastic bag to provide a visible indicator of food freshness. By attaching a freshness sensor to the inner bag, it allows users to quickly and easily see the freshness level of the contents by looking at the packaging itself. This provides a visual cue to help determine if the food is still fresh before opening the meal kit.

Source

Smart food storage case that can monitor freshness and maturity of deposited food items like meat and fruits. The case has separate compartments for each type of food. Each compartment has a monitoring system with smart labels and a governing system to control temperature, humidity, and gas levels. The smart labels have inner membranes loaded with materials like nanometer aluminum oxide, anthocyanin, and potassium permanganate to enrich and detect volatile compounds like biogenic amines and ethylene. The outer membranes have oxidized graphene to block water and oxygen. This allows the labels to sensitively detect freshness indicators without oxidation damage. The labels provide visual feedback on freshness/maturity. The case's features extend shelf life, reduce loss, and enable simultaneous monitoring of meat and fruit freshness.

Source

Freshness indicator container for perishable products that allows easy confirmation of the freshness of the contents stored in the container. The container has a section with a coating containing an enzyme that decomposes when exposed to higher temperatures. The decomposed coating flows into a storage portion below. As the storage temperature increases, the enzyme speeds up decomposition of the coating, indicating deterioration of the contents.

Source

Dynamic QR code labels for real-time monitoring of food freshness. The labels use pH indicator ink to change color as the food's pH changes, allowing visual tracking of freshness. The labels also have traditional QR functionality. Scanning the label with a phone app compares the current color to the initial color to determine freshness level. The app collects, transmits, and predicts freshness data.

Source

Biological sensor for monitoring storage conditions of perishable products. The sensor contains a microorganism, nutrients, solvent, and color indicator. When stored properly, the microorganism remains dormant. If conditions degrade, the microorganism grows and metabolizes nutrients, altering the chemical balance and causing a color change. This indicates spoilage. The sensor allows tracking of environmental factors that impact product freshness.

Source

Stable indicator device that activates and changes color when exposed to an activating agent like acid or CO2. The device has an outer barrier layer that prevents activator access initially. Inside is an indicator section with dye that changes color in response to the activator. The barrier layer thickness can be adjusted to control activation time. This allows the device to be stable until activation, then change color when exposed to the activator. Applications include food packaging, pharmaceuticals, and diagnostics where the device indicates passage of time, compromised seals, or exposure to oxygen or CO2.

Source

Non-invasive real-time prediction of food quality inside sealed containers like beverage bottles using color-changing indicators (CCIs) inside the containers. The CCI changes color when it comes into contact with the food item. The color change is visible through a transparent window on the container. By monitoring the CCI color, the remaining shelf life of the food inside the sealed container can be predicted. This allows dynamic decisions like repricing, reusing, recycling, etc. to reduce food waste and economic loss.

Source

A device for indicating the freshness of food during storage, particularly in controlled environment systems like cold storage. The device has a packaging body with upper and lower plastic sheets joined around the edges. Inside, it is divided into two compartments by a weakly bonded welding line. One compartment contains microbial powder and the other contains an indicator solution. As the food ages, microbes grow in the powder compartment and release metabolites that diffuse into the indicator compartment, changing its color to indicate spoilage. This provides a precise and low-cost way to accurately predict and monitor food freshness during storage.

Source