Sensors in food packaging:

technology and possibilities

Prof. dr. ir. Peter Ragaert

Pack4Food vzw

26 oktober 2012
Het Pand - Gent
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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
http://www.temptimecorp.com/
OnVu Innolabel
http://www.onvu.com/ http://www.innolabel.eu/

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: PackWorld.com

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: foodylife.com

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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