Chemical indicator could replace temperature logging and sell by dates
Both sell by dates and temperature data loggers for the transport of goods with limited storage lives could be replaced by a printed chemical indicator.
Present day sell by dates on foodstuffs lead to much waste, because they are based on the assumption that storage is under less than optimum conditions, while electronic temperature time loggers are too expensive for domestic use.
However, Norwegian company TimeTemp has come up with a shelf-life indicator attached directly to a product that factors in storage temperature and looks very low cost.
"Our indicator gives a running countdown of a food item's remaining shelf life based on time elapsed and its temperature environment, all the way from the production line to the consumer's refrigerator shelf at home," explained company head, Christian Salbu Aasland.
The company has its roots at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (UMB) in Ås, Norway, but is applicable to any product which is time temperature sensitive, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals and adhesives.
The method is based on a patented chemical technology and prototypes exist that use a printed bar next to green, yellow and red strips, to show how much shelf life the product it is attached to still has. The company hopes to bring its indicator to market in the course of 2011.
