A dynamic label that changes color to indicate the freshness of packaged meat, this is the idea of a Japanese study to increase food safety
In recent years, attention towards food safety has grown significantly, pushing many consumers to make more informed choices, especially when it comes to fresh products. The problem, however, is that traditional labels, which show the expiry date, do not always accurately reflect the freshness of the food, which may have been poorly stored and therefore become dangerous to health before the indicated date.
How can this gap be filled? An innovative Japanese design has found a creative solutionintroducing a dynamic label which changes color based on the freshness of the packaged meat.
The label was developed by the Japanese design studio TO-GENKYO and has a shape that recalls the hourglass, a symbol of the passage of time. Its operation is really simple: the label is printed with a special ink that reacts to ammonia, a gas that meat releases when it starts to deteriorate. As the meat loses freshness, the amount of ammonia released increases, causing the color of the ink to change from light to dark.
The ink used, derived from the pigments of purple cabbages, is safe and natural, therefore guaranteeing that the product does not pose health risks.
When the label becomes completely dark, the barcode is no longer scannableconsequently it signals unequivocally that the meat is no longer salable. This way, both consumers and store staff can easily check whether the meat is still fresh or if it is too spoiled to be consumed safely.
The dynamic meat label was presented at the Good Design Awards in Tokyo several years ago, but it doesn’t seem to have caught on yet, not even in Japanwhere it remains little known. However, the potential is there, and with the adoption of similar technologies, in the future we could see dynamic labels that help reduce the risk of food poisoning. An idea that deserves to be explored and, hopefully, adopted globally.
