Consumers show themselves to be unsettled in their purchasing behaviour and wonder how they can recognise the actual freshness of goods.
Currently we depend on the best before date. However, this does not tell us how the food was handled beforehand in the cooling chain. New labels are now to improve the cooling chain logistics and consumer protection.
Scientists at the University of Bayreuth are manufacturing a substance which changes its chemical structure as soon as energy in the form of UV light is conveyed to it.
In this case the substance changes from colourless to blue. In the course of time this reaction will be reversed independently. The fading occurs the more quickly the higher the ambient temperature is.
This procedure is part of the family of temperature time indicators (TTI) and is the basis for the new TTI system labels, which serve as an accompanying freshness monitor for the product.
”The label is a valuable addition to the best before date, as it proves that for minced meat for example is permanently chilled according to the regulations,“ says Martin Arndt, manager of technology at Bizerba, which along with its subsidiary company P+E will offer the TTI-system labels for the industrial product packaging that will be energetically charged with UV light.
Together with the patent owner FreshPoint the new indicator was made marketable. The Swiss company Ciba/Basel were employed for the industrial manufacture of the colour.
For the consumer the function of the label is self-explanatory with the help of pictograms on the label. The activated blue colour is inside a symbol. During the labelling it is activated and blue coloured, but when it is out of date it will be completely faded.
Therefore a label attached to the package can be a valuable help to consumers to evaluate the freshness of individual products.
As every product has a different shelf life, the intensity of the UV light must be varied accordingly. In order to prevent recharging of the TTIs and the forging of labels, every label will be sealed with a UV filter after activation.
Additionally, Bizerba has extended the label with a 2D-matrix-code.
The information saved within this (activation date and time, batch number, temperature specifications, best before date, clear product number) allow a product-related traceability and can clearly show the weak points of the cooling chain in the supply chain and therefore allocate costs to the originator.
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