A graduate student at Southern Methodist University (SMU), has developed a miniature pH sensor that can detect when food has spoiled in real-time.
The 2-millimeter long and 10-millimeter wide flexible pH sensor is designed to be incorporated into food packaging, such as plastic wrapping. Traditional pH meters are too bulky to be included in every package of food to monitor freshness in real-time.
“The pH sensors we developed work like a small wireless radio-frequency identification device – similar to what you find inside your luggage tag after it has been checked at airports or inside your SMU IDs. Every time a food package with our device passes a checkpoint, such as shipping logistics centers, harbors, gates, or supermarkets’ entrances, they could get scanned and the data could be sent back to a server tracking their pH levels,” Khengdauliu Chawang, graduate student and lead creator of the device, said.
FoodWorld 