Monitoring the Quality of Perishable Foods: Opportunities for Intelligent Packaging

Abstract

This review paper discusses opportunities for intelligent packaging for monitoring directly or indirectly quality attributes of perishable packaged foods. The possible roles of intelligent packaging as a tool in supply chain management are discussed as well as the barriers to implement this kind of technology in commercial applications. Cases on pasteurized milk and fresh cod fillets illustrate the application of different intelligent packaging concepts to monitor and estimate quality attributes. Conditions influencing quality (e.g., temperature-time) can be monitored to predict the quality of perishable products when the initial quality is known and rather constant (e.g., pasteurized milk). Products with a highly variable initial quality (e.g., fresh fish) require sensors monitoring compounds correlated with quality.

Options for reducing food waste by quality-controlled logistics using intelligent packaging along the supply chain

“…These are usually perishable, fresh products that are not or minimally processed (Heising et al 2014b) and which are transported in batches with a heterogeneous quality distribution (Van der Vorst et al 2007). Examples of such products are fresh fish, shellfish, meat, exclusive fruits, and vegetables and salads.…”

“…To monitor a quality attribute, product properties that can be measured in a non-destructive way in the package must give a good indication of the quality attribute. Source: Adapted from Heising et al (2014b). temperature during transportation, the time and the initial quality.…”

“…The environmental condition sensor can also be placed inside the package depending on the measured condition. Source: Adapted from Heising et al (2014b).…”

“…IPs are packaging systems that monitor the condition of packaged food during its life cycle and communicate (i.e., indicate) this information related to the quality or safety of the packaged product. An intelligent package can contain sensors and/or indicators that monitor quality indicator compounds of the product or quality indicator environmental conditions (Heising et al 2014b). The information from these sensors needs to be translated into a meaningful quality indication that is communicated to some or all the actors of the chain (Jedermann et al 2014).…”

“…The deterioration in the intrinsic quality attributes of food products should be considered to determine which IP concept is the most useful for monitoring or assuring good product quality ( Figure 3). An advantage of monitoring a quality attribute directly is that differences in the initial quality of foods are directly taken into account in the measurement of product quality (Heising et al 2014b). The time-temperature indicator's ability to give meaningful information on product quality is limited to products with a constant initial quality, e.g., pasteurised milk or processed meat products.…”