Global food waste remains a major problem.According to figures from the world mattersApproximately one-third (1.3 billion tons) of food is wasted every year. And it’s not just leftovers that are thrown away at homes and restaurants. It happens before the food reaches our homes.
Cenoptica Technologies is a sensor technology and analytics company that measures oxygen levels within packaged foods using optical sensors created with patented food-safe inks, providing manufacturers and retailers with information about the condition of their internal products. Provide real-time insights and predict corruption before it happens.
The company was founded in 2018 by Dr. Brendan Rice, Dr. Steve Convey and Dr. Rachel Evans (who developed the original sensor concept) as a spin-out from Trinity College, Dublin.
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had been approved to enter the North American market.
We spoke to Brendan Rice to find out more.
The company focuses on foods sold in flavor packaging, which account for half of the world’s fresh packaged foods, from bagged salads to sliced cooked meats, cheeses, some fruits and breads. Masu.
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is a food packaging technology that extends the shelf life of perishable foods by changing the gas composition within the package.
Normal air contains about 21% oxygen, which can cause many foods to spoil. MAP reduces the amount of oxygen and replaces it with a gas mixture, usually nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and sometimes carbon monoxide. This extends the shelf life of shelf-stable foods and reduces the need for preservatives.
However, if the package leaks or is not sealed correctly the first time, the conditioned atmosphere can be compromised and the food can spoil more quickly.
How does Cenoptica technology work?
Each pack has an optical oxygen sensor based on a patented food-safe ink printed on the inside of the film covering the pack.
In food manufacturing, packs pass through a leak accelerator as they approach the end-of-line inspection system. This device helps accelerate sealing and packaging defects and slows down leaks.
In supermarkets and retail stores, inline scanning systems read sensor outputs to determine whether a pack should be rejected. This scanning system can be easily integrated into existing packaging lines. As a result, substandard packs are rejected and the food can be repacked.
Additionally, handheld scanners allow you to read sensors at any point in the supply chain, from cold storage to supermarket shelves, and perform spot checks on pack gas levels.
Rice explains:
“We ship products faster and provide new information to benefit consumers. There’s nothing wrong with the food. The packaging let it down.”
In the future, Cenoptica’s technology could send a signal to a retailer’s system to print a “use this today” ticket.
For manufacturers, this means defective food packs can be immediately returned to the packing line for repacking, saving time and costs across the food value chain. This saves time and money for retailers and consumers, and can effectively mean the end of the shelf life.
Rice explains that the food industry is currently only able to sample test a small number of every pack it makes (approximately 0.03 percent of all packs it makes). Because the tests that are there are destructive and meant to be done only once. Since the pack has been tested, you will need to repack the product and discard the packaging.
“Our technology can test any pack.”
Since Cenoptica increased the odds of finding a defective product by 11,000 times, defective packs are initially less likely to make it into the supply chain.
In an early pilot, the startup also simulated a supermarket. Rice was guiding the trolley and overturned the food.
He explained:
“We put the packages side by side on the right side and everything looked fine, but we found that the drop affected the gas levels and shortened the lifespan.”
The company recently carried out trials in UK supermarkets and found that around 5% of packs on shelves had already been damaged due to lack of atmosphere designed to keep food fresh. There was found.
“So the retailer ends up throwing it away. They lose money.” There’s revenue, there’s margin, and you’ll have to pay to get rid of it. ”
This pilot test was the first time we’ve been able to see what’s going on inside large-scale food packs that we’ve been doing for a long time.
But it also shares some very deep insights into how to prevent food waste by looking at opportunities to extend the shelf life of products and seeing what’s happening over time without breaking the pack. I am. ”
The company has gained valuable traction in an area where inflation is rising and profit margins are narrow. Rice explained:
“Global retail is a highly competitive market. We see an opportunity here for them because the margins are high, the technology works, provides economic value and helps drive sustainability.” That’s what I think.”
Based on FDA approval, Cenoptica plans to expand its operations in the UK and begin retail trials of its technology across the US. The company wants to reduce food waste by 11 million tons per year, an amount he says equates to 240 million tons of CO2.
