Title: The Future of Food Safety: Smart Packaging Technology
Introduction
Food producers are hesitant to add costs to food packaging, even if it means improved food safety and reduced waste, according to a group of McMaster researchers. However, a new technology based on smart packaging could revolutionize the food industry, saving producers and consumers billions of dollars each year.
The Need for Smart Packaging Technology
The current practice of marking fresh foods with a “best before” or “consume by” date is far from perfect. These dates are often arbitrary and conservative, leading to unnecessary food waste. According to Tohid Didar, a biomedical engineer and entrepreneur, Canada wastes $40 billion worth of food every year, a significant portion of which is due to these arbitrary dates.
Smart packaging technology, on the other hand, can detect and signal when food has gone bad, reducing food waste and improving food safety. The McMaster researchers have developed several packaging-based methods for detecting or halting spoilage, including Sentinel Wrap, a hand-held test, Lab-on-a-package, and a sprayable, food-safe gel. These monitoring technologies can read biochemical signals from common culprits in spoilage and are made to be easily adaptable.
Benefits of Smart Packaging Technology
Smart packaging technology can save producers and consumers billions of dollars annually. By reducing food waste, smart packaging technology can lower food production costs, reduce health-care and lost-time costs associated with foodborne illnesses, and decrease the environmental impact of food waste.
Moreover, smart packaging technology can improve food safety by detecting and signaling the presence of harmful bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonella, and E coli. This can help prevent foodborne illnesses, which affect millions of people each year and can result in severe health complications.
Challenges and Solutions
Despite the benefits of smart packaging technology, introducing it into the market has been challenging. According to Shadman Khan, a PhD candidate and Vanier Scholar in Didar’s lab, transitioning from a calendar-based food freshness and safety system to a detection-based system will be a significant effort. However, by building collaborative networks with government regulators and industrial partners, the inventors hope to adapt to the challenges and bring the technology to market.
Conclusion
Smart packaging technology has the potential to revolutionize the food industry, improving food safety and reducing food waste. While introducing this technology into the market has been challenging, the benefits far outweigh the costs. By working together, researchers, policy makers, corporations, and consumers can start a conversation and come up with solutions to bring this technology up to date and improve the food industry for everyone.