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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

NFC

Scientists Transform NFC Tags Into Spoiled Meat Sensors

If you’re like me, you’ve done the smell test on that week old ground beef to make sure it hasn’t spoiled. And if you’re also like me, there’s always a nagging doubt about the accuracy of old-school sniff tests, especially when the downside of rotten meat is such…um…high steaks (sorry not sorry).

Lucky for us, in the future we’ll have some tech-powered backup to make sure our sniffers are accurate.

The latest take on food spoilage sensors is from researchers out of China’s Nanjing University and the University of Texas at Austin, who published a paper last week outlining their research project in which they created a “a nanostructured conductive polymer-based gas sensor” which they embedded into an NFC tag. When the sensor detects meat spoilage vapors, it acts as a switch for the NFC tag to send an alert to a nearby smart phone (normal NFC transmission range is less than 4 inches).

From the study’s press release:

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.

The most likely place for this type of system is further up the food value chain than my fridge, but there’s a good chance consumers will eventually use this type of tech in the home kitchen. While others like Amazon are already looking into gas sensors as a way to detect spoiled food, the concept of embedded sensor switches on NFC labeling could eliminate the need for sensors built into fridges. While I like the idea of smarter fridges, the NFC approach wouldn’t require a big up front purchase of a high-end appliance. I also think some retailers might see smart labels (like those with built-in meat spoilage sensors) as a differentiator.

And of course, there are other ways to reduce food waste without the need for gas-sensing labels. One of my favorites is Mimica’s label, which turns “bumpy” when milk approaches its expiration date. Another is Ovie’s Bluetooth tag and storage system, which accesses spoilage data from USDA and FDA to help us better predict when food might go bad.

Bottom line: as we found out at last week’s meetup, food waste continues to be a massive problem, but there are lots of innovative ideas – some close to market, others further away – that could help us become less wasteful.

ThinFilm’s Tags Could (Potentially) Put Detailed Food Information at Your Fingertips

Lately, people want to know more about their food than ever before. Was this meat grass-fed or corn-fed? Was this apple grown locally? Did this chicken have many friends?

Oslo-based ThinFilm uses Near-Field Communications (NFC) to allow smartphones to read information like this with a tap of their phones. Brand partners stick ThinFilm’s SpeedTap tags on their products, and when a consumer scans the tag with their phone they’re lead to a database with detailed product information and marketing deals. While they have chiefly worked with costmetic, pharmaceutical, and fashion companies, they’re hoping to apply this tech to food safety and traceability the next few years.

Recently, they took steps towards this goal by launching CNECT Blockchain Services; a tool which could integrate blockchain into product information to promote food transparency for both the consumer and the supplier.

“With blockchain, provenance is a big deal,” ThinFilm’s Chief Commercial Officer Christian Delay told me over the phone. “The challenge that a lot of people have is if there’s food safety issues or recall issues it’s hard to determine if you have a contaminated package or not.” Retailers or food safety inspectors can use ThinFilm’s tech to scan the tag on a specific food product and get information about it, including where it was made, how it was transported, and even how it can be recycled. 

They’re not the only one using blockchain (or, at least, talking about using blockchain) to trace the food supply chain. FoodLogiQ just launched an innovation hub to pilot projects applying blockchain to increase food safety, and Ripe.io is working to build “a Blockchain for Food.”

But according to Delay, ThinFilm’s tech could have grand applications beyond food safety. “It could even give customers a recipe or preparation tips for the food they scan,” said Delay. “It’s a way to enable brands and manufacturers to forge a direct connection with people buying their products.” So if you scanned the tag on a flank steak, you would not only know where the cow was raised and whether it was corn- or grass-fed, but also get a recipe and tips on how to best slice the cut of meat. 

Delay even pointed out that their tech could be used to reduce the price of an item that was about to go bad. Once you bring food home, the expiration date would link up to the server and alert you with a timer when your food is ready to go bad. Sort of like what Ovie tags do, but virtual — though, at this stage, this is all theoretical.

Brands can either pay per unit for use of the ThinFilm tags, which includes access to their information-sharing database, or they can pay a flat subscription fee to license both. So far their scanning tech works automatically with Android phones, but iPhone users will have to download an app. 

As of now their CNECT Blockchain Services are on the market with companies in three trial verticals: wine, spirits, and meat (specifically, Australian beef). All are in stealth mode, though Delay promised that they would reveal the identity of the wine company shortly. If the pilots are successful and they continue to expand their markets, we might soon be able to see if the chicken on our plate was, indeed, well-liked by his chicken friends.