Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
Three young European inventors, founders of the Oscillum Biotechnology company, make some important points about the unreliability of “sell by”, “best by” and expiration dates. Unreliability relative to the shelf life and quality of perishable products, such as food, cosmetics, and medicines. The inventors point out that a food product, for example, might still be in good condition past the indicated "sell by", "best by" or expiration dates, which are generally conservative estimates. And, just as important, they point out that a food product might no longer be in good condition prior to the dates specified, simply because the product might not have been stored in the required manner (e.g., the product might have thawed and then re-frozen), or because the product might have been contaminated during transportation.
The inventors further explain how both scenarios are problematic. In the first scenario, when products are still in good condition past the expiration, "best by" or "sell by" dates, this results in large amounts of waste. Waste that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates at 1/3 of the global food production, 60% of which is wasted at the household level. Waste, which has been quantified, for food, in billions of Euros on the Oscillum Biotechnology company website. The second scenario is a public health risk. Perishable products that go bad undetected, or are contaminated, at any time prior to the indicated "sell by", "best by" or expiration dates, whether food, cosmetics, or medicines, may create serious health emergencies.
In the absence of reliable ways to prevent such seriously problematic situations, concerning the shelf life of perishable products, such as food, and by extension cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, the inventors have designed smart labels. Smart labels, stand alone or embeded in films and packaging, placed on a product, or around it, that reliably detect physical, chemical and biological changes in a perishable product. The smart labels contain sensors that react to various stimuli. Stimuli such as chemical or biological molecules within or released by the products, and environmental changes such as temperature, which would affect product stability, over time.
This smart label invention is recited in the Spanish patent ES1309897U, titled (in translation to English) Indicator label that allows to detect and alert the state of decomposition of a food*. The patent was awarded on Aug. 19, 2024, to Pilar Granado, Pablo Sosa Domínguez and Luis Chimeno, in Spain.
The patent Figure 1 below depicts the gradual color change that occurs on the inventive smart label, included on a product support. The patent describes the components comprising the smart label matrix that function to detect food decomposition through chemical, biological and physical, or environmental changes. The direct sensing of changes, occurring relative to internal food composition and its interaction with external factors, provides a better and more reliable real-time indicator of perishable food decomposition. An image of the marketed product is also included below the patent figure. The image shows changes in the smart label color across time for a piece of salmon.
A non-legally binding Google translation of the patent abstract is included below.
Indicator label that allows detecting and alerting the state of decomposition of a food through physical changes, chemical or biological changes, or through environmental changes, which is characterized because it comprises a matrix in combination with additives; and at least one agent that produces the change and acts as a sensor. [Abstract ES1309897U]
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* The spanish title of the patent is Etiqueta indicadora que permite detectar y alertar del estado de descomposicion de un alimento.
References
Oscillum Biotechnology (website)
https://www.oscillum.com/en/
Oscillum Climate Launchpad
https://climatelaunchpad.org/finalists/oscillum-2/ United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
