Colour-changing food packaging could end food poisoning by showing when fresh produce has gone off

Almaty. April 25. Kazakhstan Today - Scientists have invented a food packaging, which changes colour to indicate when meat or fish has gone bad, Kazakhstan Today reports.

Food poisoning could become a thing of the past thanks to a revolutionary packaging which changes colour to show when fresh produce has gone off, the Daily Mail reported.

Scientists have invented a sensor film which changes from yellow to blue to indicate when meat or fish has gone bad.

It could mean an end to the unpleasant kitchen ritual of having to smell chicken legs, pork chops or pieces of fish to see if they are spoiled.

There have been several scandals involving the sale of rotten meat. Customers themselves shorten the shelf-life of many meat and fish products by not storing them properly.

Now experts at the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Modular Solid State Technologies in Munich have developed a plastic film which can be incorporated into packaging.

The film responds to biogenic amines, the molecules produced when foods such as meat and fish decay. They are also responsible for the unpleasant smell from food which has gone off.

If amines are released into the air within the packaging, the indicator dye on the sensor film reacts with them and changes its colour from yellow to blue. Dr Anna Hezinger, one of the researchers on the project, said: 'Once a certain concentration range is reached, the colour change is clearly visible and warns the consumer.

'This is not only interesting when it comes to identifying foods that have become inedible.

'Many people are also extremely sensitive to the presence of certain amines, which makes a warning all the more important for them.

'Unlike the best-before date, the information on the sensor film is not based on an estimate but on an actual control of the food itself.'

Dr Hezinger said the chemicals in the film were perfectly safe and would not contaminate food.

Scientists are also working on a measurement module with a built-in sensor film which can be used by the food industry to test the freshness of food products.

The device analyses the sensor film colour to provide a more precise result than is possible with the human eye. This also permits an exact identification of intermediate shades of colour.

Photo: Daily Mail

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