Can food be eaten when it's out of date? Scientists have developed sensors that can identify bad meat.

　German media reported on June 8 that scientists have developed a sensor that can help identify whether
meat
and
fish
are in bad health.
a third of the world's food is thrown into the garbage, German weekly Der Spiegel reported on June 5. Germany throws away 55 kilograms of fruit, vegetables, bread and meat every year. This is not only a waste of food, but also a negative impact on the environment.
half of the food thrown away is still edible. They are simply thrown away as garbage because they are out of date.
researchers have now developed a sensor that can help identify whether meat and fish are getting bad.
the instrument consists of a piece of paper and tiny carbon electrodes printed on it. Philat Cuddell and colleagues at Imperial College London used the absorbentness of paper to create a sample. "Although the paper feels and looks dry, it is always wet," they wrote in the journal American Chemical Society Sensors. "At 50% relative humidity, moisture accounts for about 5% of the total weight of the paper.
scientists continue to write that by testing the conductivity of water films in paper, they can see which substances dissolve in them. If water-soluble gases are present in the surrounding environment, the paper is more conductive. Ammonia and methamphetamine produced when meat or fish go bad are also water-soluble gases. Measurements can be read through an application.
also integrated their sensors with near-field communication chips. The technology can read information by electromagnetic induction. When rotting gas, meat and fish are not detected on the paper, the researchers' app pops up automatically, and if the food doesn't go bad, the app doesn't respond.
researchers say tests of packaged fish and chicken in the lab have found that the sensor's results are more accurate than existing technology. At the same time, the unit price of the new system is only 2 cents, very cheap. And the sensor can be biodegradable, non-toxic harmless. It therefore meets a number of key points that have arisen in previous attempts to develop similar sensors.
researchers are currently working on packaging materials that change color depending on the state of the food. To date, however, it has not been commercialized because of high costs or difficult to interpret the results.
and colleagues point out that the sensors currently under development are the first commercially available variants of similar technology. Mass production of such sensors is technically feasible. Scientists hope food manufacturers and supermarkets will introduce the device within the next three years.
, they plan to further improve the system and expand the test to other foods. Most of the food lost is fruits and vegetables. To detect the status of fruits and vegetables, researchers are developing a system that can identify changes in the individual gases and humidity in the package. Jiao Yu.