Sensors in food packaging:
technology and possibilities
Prof. dr. ir. Peter Ragaert
Pack4Food vzw
26 oktober 2012
Het Pand - Gent
What is Pack4Food?
INDUSTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTES/
65 members NETWORK ORGANISATIONS
Food products
Filling systems Food products -composition
-pH
-aw
Advices Research
Shelf-life
-chemical
Packaging -microbiological
Gasses
materials -physical
Training Networking Sustainability
Filling System Packaging material
Resins -standard -barrier
-clean -active
-ultraclean
Distribution -Hot fill
-passive
-closure systems
-Aseptic
-In packaging
-MAP
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Trends in food packaging
Recycling Bioplastics
Sustainability
MAP
Intelligent
O2-absorbers
packaging
Migration Healthy Conscious and
CONSUMENT demanding
and tasty
Antimicrobial
systems Transparancy
Convenience
Barrier
packaging Heat resistance
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Intelligent packaging
(Def. EU 1935/2004 and EU 450/2009)
• Intelligent materials and articles:
– They monitor the condition of the packaged food
or the environment surrounding the food
– No changes in characteristics of food products
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Intelligent packaging
≠ active packaging:
– Intended to extend the shelf-life of packaged food
Or
– To maintain or improve the condition of packaged
food
≠ smart packaging:
– Collective term ‘active and/or intelligent’
– Example: Gizmo
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Intelligent packaging
• Extension of communication function of
traditional packaging
• Communicates information to consumers
based on its ability to sense, detect, or record
external or internal changes in the product’s
environment
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Requirements of intelligent packaging
• Reliability:
– Link between signal and quality food product
– Irreversible signal
– Sensitive ánd specific
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Requirements of intelligent packaging
• Economical/logistic aspects
– Cheap
– Easy-to-read and unambiguous
– Easy-to-integrate in production chain
• Applied as sachet
• Applied as label
• Applied as integral part of packaging material
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Requirements of intelligent packaging
• Safe
– Deliberate interaction with food and/or
environment!
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Types of intelligent packaging
In general: two types
1. Measuring the condition of the package on
the outside
2. Measuring directly the quality of the food
product inside the packaging
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Link with functionality of food packaging
• Containment
– Related with mechanical properties
• Protection
– Against external factors (e.g. O2, H2O, light)
• Convenience
– “easy-to-use”
• Marketing
– Providing information
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Link with functionality of food packaging
Added value by intelligent materials
• Containment Leak detection systems
– Related with mechanical properties
• Protection Leak detection systems
Quality indicators
– Against external factors Time/Temperature indicators
• Convenience
Thermochromic inks
– “easy-to-use” RFID
• Marketing LED in food packaging
– Providing information Holographic Images
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Link with functionality of food packaging
Added value by intelligent materials
• Containment Leak detection systems
– Related with mechanical properties
• Protection Leak detection systems
Quality indicators
– Against external factors
Time/Temperature indicators
• Convenience
Thermochromic inks
– “easy-to-use” RFID
• Marketing LED in food packaging
– Providing information Holographic Images
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Time-Temperature Indicators (TTI)
• Integrating exposure of packaged food with time and
temperature (t x T)
• Colour changes due to mechanical, chemical,
electrochemical, enzymatic or microbiological reaction
TempTime
[Link]
OnVu Innolabel
[Link] [Link]
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Time-Temperature Indicators (TTI)
• Applications
– Monitoring cold chain
– Monitoring product quality: Importance of
thorough knowledge of microbiological and
chemical quality loss in the food product in
function of temperature during development of
TTI’s
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Link with functionality of food packaging
Added value by intelligent materials
• Containment Leak detection systems
– Related with mechanical properties
• Protection Leak detection systems
– Against external factors Quality indicators
Time/Temperature indicators
• Convenience
Thermochromic inks
– “easy-to-use” RFID
• Marketing LED in food packaging
– Providing information Holographic Images
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Quality indicators
• Colour change depending on changes in quality of the
food product
– Flavour components, ethylene,…
– Microbiological metabolites,…
• Not much commercial applications
• Lots of research/patents
• Focus on:
– Following up ripening processes (e.g. fruits)
– Following up amine-production (e.g. fish)
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Quality indicators
• Ripesense ®
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Quality indicators
• SensorQ™ (Food Quality Sensor International / DSM)
– pH-sensing technology (based on anthocyanines)
– Detects freshness/spoilage level of packed meat and
poultry by reacting with biogenic amines from
microbiological origin
– Label
– Orange-colored center in ‘Q’ turns dark
green if meat is spoiled
Photo: [Link]
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Quality indicators
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Link with functionality of food packaging
Added value by intelligent materials
• Containment Leak detection systems
– Related with mechanical properties
• Protection Leak detection systems
– Against external factors Quality indicators
Time/Temperature indicators
• Convenience
Thermochromic inks
– “easy-to-use” RFID
• Marketing LED in food packaging
– Providing information Holographic Images
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Leak detection systems
• O2-indicators
– Ageless Eye®
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Leak detection systems
• Actually measuring the O2-concentration:
example Oxysense
Photo: Oxysense
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Link with functionality of food packaging
Added value by intelligent materials
• Containment Leak detection systems
– Related with mechanical properties
• Protection Leak detection systems
Quality indicators
– Against external factors Time/Temperature indicators
• Convenience
Thermochromic inks
– “easy-to-use” RFID
• Marketing LED in food packaging
– Providing information Holographic Images
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Thermochromic inks
• Inks sensitive to temperature changes
• e.g. change in colour or appear/disappear at the
moment the optimal temperature has been
reached
Smart Lid Systems (Sydney, Australia)
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
LED in food packaging
Flexible electronis in
packaging materials? Information product
via mobile phone
LED-lights in
packaging?
Source: MIT Media lab
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
RFID
Radio Frequency Identification Tags
Foto: [Link]
Foto: Fraunhofer
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Legislative aspects
• Commission regulation (EC) 450/2009 on active
and intelligent materials and articles intended to
come into contact with food
– Article 3: definitions
• Active and intelligent materials
• Functional barriers
• Released active substances
– Article 4: refers to:
• Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 (materials and articles intended to come into
contact with food)
• Regulation (EC) 450/2009
– Article 5: Community list
– Article 11: Labelling
– Article 12: Declaration of compliance and documentation
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Global market of intelligent packaging
• Intelligent packaging represents globally a $1.4 billion segment in 2008, increasing
to $2.3 billion over the next five years
Source: Restuccia et al. 2010. Food Control, 21, 1425-1435
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Global market of intelligent packaging
• Barriers towards intelligent packaging
– Costs
– Recyclability of packaging
– Retailer ánd consumer acceptance
Source: Restuccia et al. 2010. Food Control, 21, 1425-1435
Sensors in food packaging © 2012 – Peter Ragaert
26 oktober 2012
Dare to innovate
in food packaging!
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Pack4Food VZW
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9000 Gent
Tel: +32 (0)9 264 99 30
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