Smart packaging project to monitor food in transit

Dan Rogers - 27 Apr 2010

A European project is combining sensing technology with integrated RFID, to make food packaging that gathers data on its contents and changes the way food safety is assessed.

The four-year FlexSmell project, which began earlier in 2010, is creating packaging materials that can be printed with embedded sensors and RFID antennas. These packaging materials will allow food packers and handlers can monitor products in transit for freshness and damage.

Italian packaging firm Carton Pack and German sensor producer BoTest are partners in the €3.8 million initiative, and could adopt technology to print monitoring packaging materials when the project is completed.

Luisa Torsi, FlexSmell coordinator and professor of analytical chemistry at the University of Bari, says: 'Carton Pack's core business is food packaging, so they could integrate devices in a plastic that is to be used for food.'

Transit

Chemical and pressure sensors will gather data on both the changing conditions within the food packaging and the impact on the packaging in transit. This information can then be transmitted to operatives via RFID.

'The RF tracking system, which is integrated as well, is in charge of committing to central memory the information that has been processed by the sensors,' Torsi adds.

The project combines organic and inorganic sensing technologies, and attempts to apply printed electronic processes to make a flexible packaging substrate at low cost.

Torsi comments: 'This project gathers partners from different areas - developers of organic devices for sensing applications, and those developing inorganic, or metal oxide, sensors for electronic noses.

'These two groups had not been interacting that much in the past, but they had quite complementary expertise, so the interaction could be really fruitful.'

Low cost

The project is aiming to create a material with RFID and sensors at a cost similar to adding barcodes, says Torsi.

'For the cost of a barcode tag, we'll try to have a whole circuit,' she explains.

'The technology used doesn't involve any photolithography, vacuum deposition, or a cleanroom environment - we can realise the circuit using the printed approach.'

Though the project intends to generate practical knowledge amongst the project partners and researchers - rather than delivering a specific product/process demonstrator - BoTest and Carton Pack could follow up with commercial work or the partners could potentially set up a new company to commercialise technology and devices based on the project's findings.

'Both BoTest and Carton Pack are interested in a follow-up to the project, and we're looking forward to a spin-off company too,' Torsi adds.

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