With the increasing demand for food safety, and the development of automatic sensing technology, microprocessor control drive technology and innovative materials, intelligent packaging is rising rapidly. Smart food packaging bag is invented by scientists from Strathclyde University in England. People can judge whether the food inside is deteriorated by observing the bag. The principle is that the oxygen content in the bag changes to change the color of the packaging bag.
1、 Overview
What is the current smart packaging? It is reported that the latest intelligent packaging is nanotechnology printing and organic electronics, as well as can identify and affect the freshness of food. However, these new technologies are only in the R & D stage and have not been implemented.
The principle is that the oxygen content in the bag changes to change the color of the packaging bag.
The active packaging can control humidity, prevent the spread of bacteria, and kill bacteria by using absorbents, such as iron, to keep oxygen sensitive beverages such as beer or juice fresh for longer. The soft package technology with adjustable moisture can prevent the air from condensing into water, which can extend the shelf life of foods such as mushrooms.
2、 Function
1. Change face color
Andrew mills, a professor at Strathclyde University in the UK, is leading researchers to develop the smart bag.
If meat, fish, vegetables and other foods exceed their shelf life or are kept out of the refrigerator for a long time, the freshness will be destroyed. According to mills' team, when freshness drops to a certain level, the smart plastic bag changes color. It also reminds people to store sealed food in refrigerators.
If the package is damaged and endangers food quality, this plastic bag also has a warning.
The researchers say it can also help people distinguish between "best to eat" and "quality shelf life" without worrying about eating bad.
2. It can breathe
At present, people usually use the "freshness indicator" which is a label placed in the food packaging bag, and the cost is not low.
Mills and others hope to develop a new indicator that can be integrated with plastic bags to reduce costs. "The principle of the" air-conditioning bags "currently being promoted is to inhibit the decomposition of organic matter into food, but the price is considerable," mills said. We plan to develop new plastic products to reduce prices. "
The new food packaging bag will have the function of "air exchange" like air conditioner to extend the food storage life. "Air conditioning" is not to regulate the temperature, but to reduce the amount of oxygen in the sealed bag, filled with nitrogen and carbon dioxide, to reduce the natural decay rate of food.
If the oxygen level in the bag exceeds the predetermined value, the plastic bag will also change color.
3. Help save
According to official statistics, British families throw away about 8.3 million tons of food every year, and 364000 tons of edible food are thrown away every year because they exceed the "best eating period", of which 39000 tons are still unsealed.
"People throw away too much food these days," mills said. This is a kind of damage to the environment and economic development. "
Mills said the first batch of smart bags will be available in two years. This will help housewives reduce waste.
3、 Outlook
In the next few years, each product with independent packaging will be labeled with smart tags. In 2015, the annual demand for RFID tags will reach 100 billion, most of which will be used in smart packaging. Only from the demand of RFID, we can see the huge market and potential opportunities of intelligent food packaging bags.
Intelligent food packaging bag technology can facilitate consumers to choose safe food, can extend the shelf life of food, is conducive to the preservation and transportation of food, has broad market prospects. Especially in the market supervision mechanism is not perfect, counterfeit products are still rampant, consumers need the help of intelligent packaging technology. Researchers predict that in the near future, the number of packaging bags produced with intelligent packaging technology will account for 20% - 40% of the total number of food packaging bags.
Intelligent food packaging bag is the future of packaging industry. However, in order to popularize smart food packaging bag in place and develop its profit space better, we should not only increase the investment in human and material resources in the development of intelligent technology, but also keep up with the pace of China's transformation from industrialization to informatization, and increase investment from two aspects: paying attention to the new trend of intelligent technology and promoting mature technology Degree.
Packaging enterprises should not only pay enough attention to the high and new technology, but also adopt the correct method in the new fields and new topics such as intelligent food packaging bags. We should not research and develop for R & D and build a car behind closed doors. We should always grasp the market trend, deeply study the market before the new technology is approved, and formulate the product strategy according to the market demand; for the existing mature technology, we should strive to push it to the market boldly through various ways.