The Ultimate 'Smell Test': Device Sends Rotten Food Warning to Smartphones
June 28, 2018 | ACSEstimated reading time: 1 minute
When it comes to the "smell test," the nose isn't always the best judge of food quality. Now in a study appearing in ACS' journal Nano Letters, scientists report that they have developed a wireless tagging device that can send signals to smartphones warning consumers and food distributors when meat and other perishables have spoiled. They say this new sensor could improve the detection of rotten food so it is tossed before consumers eat it.
Every year, 48 million people in the U.S. get sick from foodborne illnesses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of these, about 125,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 die. Traditionally, many consumers just smell a food to detect spoilage, but this technique is only as reliable as the sniffer's nose. At the other end of the spectrum, food inspectors often use bulky, expensive equipment to detect harmful microbes. Scientists are investigating other approaches, including near field communication (NFC) labeling, that are both portable and dependable. NFC devices wirelessly transmit information over short distances—usually less than 4 inches. They are similar to the radio frequency identification products retailers use to track inventory and shipments. Building on this idea, Lijia Pan, Yi Shi, Guihua Yu and colleagues sought to incorporate a sensitive switch into NFC labeling tags to detect food spoilage using a smartphone.
The scientists created a nanostructured, conductive, polymer-based gas sensor that can detect substances called biogenic amines (BAs), which give decomposing meat its bad odor. They embedded these sensors into NFCs placed next to meats. After the meats had been stored for 24 hours at 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the researchers found that the sensors successfully detected significant amounts of BAs. The sensors then switched on the NFCs so they could transmit this information to a nearby smartphone.
Suggested Items
Scientists Propose a New Way to Search for Dark Matter
04/02/2024 | SLAC National Accelerator LaboratoryEver since its discovery, dark matter has remained invisible to scientists, despite the launch of multiple ultra-sensitive particle detector experiments around the world over several decades.
Walmart Acquires Vizio, Set to Overtake Samsung as the Largest TV Brand in the US
02/22/2024 | TrendForceUS retail giant Walmart announced on February 20, that it has acquired smart TV brand Vizio for US$2.3 billion, aiming to accelerate the growth of its advertising business: Walmart Connect. Since its launch in 2021, Walmart Connect has seen double-digit annual growth in both its online and offline retail media advertising ventures. Vizio has been expanding its device ecosystem and its SmartCast TV OS, boasting over 18 million active users, according to TrendForce.
Fiber Optic Cables Effective Way to Detect Tsunamis
02/16/2024 | University of MichiganFiber optic cables that line ocean floors could provide a less expensive, more comprehensive alternative to the current buoys that act as early warning systems for tsunamis, says a University of Michigan researcher.
EIPC Winter Conference 2024, Day 2: A Closer Look at Global Trends
02/14/2024 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007The opening session of the second day’s conference proceedings focused on global PCB trends and was introduced and moderated by Dr. Michele Stampanoni, vice president of strategic sales and business development at Cicor Group in Switzerland. He opened the session with Dr. Hayao Nakahara’s knowledgeable and enlightening video presentation on the IC substrates industry.
IDTechEx Discusses Whether Fuel Cell Vehicles Will Succeed and What It Would Take
02/12/2024 | PRNewswireThe sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars have largely stalled from 2021 onwards, but does this mean there is no market for fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in the future, and what is required to make them a success? IDTechEx's report, "