Developing smart packaging to optimise product shelf-life has been the goal of many companies. Such packaging systems would be able to repair small holes/tears, respond to environmental conditions (e.g. temperature and moisture changes), and alert the customer if the food is contaminated. Nanotechnology can provide solutions for these, for example modifying the permeation behaviour of foils, increasing barrier properties (mechanical, thermal, chemical, and microbial), improving mechanical and heat-resistance properties, developing active antimicrobic and antifungal surfaces, and sensing as well as signalling microbiological and biochemical changes.
The financial outlook for nanotechnology enabled packaging looks buoyant. The current packaging market stands at 1.1 billion USD and is predicted to increase to 3.7 billion USD by 2010. Within this, the Smart Packaging industry is growing faster than predicted and is already showing signs of maturity. Research by the financial firm Frost and Sullivan, found that today’s consumers demand much more from packaging in terms of protecting the quality, freshness and safety of foods, as well as convenience. They conclude that this is one of the main reasons behind the increased interest in innovative methods of packaging.26 There are several organizations developing Smart Packaging systems. For example, Kraft foods, along with researchers at Rutgers University in the US, is developing an “electronic tongue” for inclusion in packaging. This consists of an array of nanosensors which are extremely sensitive to gases released by food as it spoils, causing the sensor strip to change colour as a result, giving a clear visible signal of whether the food is fresh or not. Bayer Polymers has developed the Durethan KU2-2601 packaging film, which is lighter, stronger and more heat resistant than those currently on the market. The primary purpose of food packaging films is to prevent contents from drying out and to protect them from moisture and oxygen. The new film is known as a “hybrid system” that is enriched with an enormous number of silicate nanoparticles.
These massively reduce the entrance of oxygen and other gases, and the exit of moisture, thus preventing food from spoiling. Breweries would ideally use plastic bottles to ship beer, as these are lighter than glass and cheaper than metal cans. However, alcohol in beer reacts with the plastic used for the bottles, severely shortening shelf-life. Voridan, in association with Nanocor, has developed a nanocomposite containing clay nanoparticles, called Imperm. The resultant bottle is both lighter and stronger than glass and is less likely to shatter. The nanocomposite structure minimises loss of carbon dioxide from the beer and the ingress of oxygen to the bottle, keeping the beer fresher and giving it up to a six-month shelf life.28 The technology has been adopted by several companies including the Miller Brewing Co.. Honeywell Specialty Polymers, has also successfully engineered plastic beer bottles that incorporate nanocomposites giving an extended shelf life (up to 26 weeks).
The “Aegis” nylon 6 is the barrier layer in this 3-layered construction and has been used since late 2003 in the 1.6-litre Hite Pitcher beer bottle from Hite Brewery Co. in South Korea. In a different strategy, Kodak is developing antimicrobial films that have the ability to absorb oxygen from the contents of the package, thus impeding food deterioration.
Other organizations are looking at ways in which nanotechnology can offer improvements in sensitivity or ease by which contamination of food is detected. For example, AgroMicron has developed the NanoBioluminescence Detection Spray which contains a luminescent protein that has been engineered to bind to the surface of microbes such as Salmonella and E. coli. When bound, it emits a visible glow, thus allowing easy detection of contaminated food or beverages. The more intense the glow is, the higher the bacterial contamination. The company aims to market the product under the name BioMark and is currently designing new spray techniques to apply in ocean freight containerized shipping as well as to fight bioterrorism.
In a similar strategy to ensure food safety, EU researchers in the Good Food Project have developed a portable nanosensor to detect chemicals, pathogens and toxins in food.31 This circumvents the need to send samples to laboratories (which is both costly and lengthy), allowing food to be analysed for safety and quality at the farm, abattoir, during transport, processing or at the packaging plant. The project is also developing a device using DNA biochips to detect pathogens- a technique that could also be applied to determine the presence of different kinds of harmful bacteria in meat or fish, or fungi affecting fruit. The project also has plans to develop microarray sensors that can be used to identify pesticides on fruit and vegetables as well as those which will monitor environmental conditions at the farm. These have been coined “Good Food sensors”.
The EU-funded BioFinger project, which has the aim of developing “versatile, inexpensive, and easy-to-use diagnostic tools for health, environmental and other applications”, has found a different application in food analysis. The device uses cantilever technology, in which the tip of the cantilever is coated with chemicals allowing it to bend and resonate when it binds specific molecules (such as those on the surface of bacteria). The BioFinger device incorporates the cantilevers on a disposable microchip making it small and portable.32 The US military is developing super sensors to be used in times of terrorist attacks on food supplies. Current systems can take several days to confirm the presence of pathogens in food, however new nanotechnology enabled super sensors will be able to detect pathogens immediately. Such technology would have widespread applications in the food industry. Researchers at the University of Bonn are developing dirt repellent coatings for packages
using the lotus effect (water beads and runs off the surface of lotus leaves as a result of nanoscale wax pyramids which coat the leaves). Abattoirs and meat processing plants in particular could benefit from such technology. A research group at the University of Leeds in UK has determined that nanoparticles of magnesium oxide and zinc oxide are highly effective at destroying microorganisms. As these would be much cheaper to manufacture than silver nanoparticles, this could have tremendous applications in food packaging.
Nanotechnology has also found applications in monitoring and tagging of food items. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology was developed by the military more than 50 years ago, but has now found its way to numerous applications from food monitoring in shops to improving supply chain efficiency. The technology, which consists of microprocessors and an antenna that can transmit data to a wireless receiver, can be used to monitor an item from the warehouse to the consumer’s hands.
Unlike bar codes, which need to be scanned manually and read individually, RFID tags do not require line-of-sight for reading and it is possible to automatically read hundreds of tags a second. Retailing chains like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Metro group, and Tesco, have already tested this technology.
The main drawback is the increased production costs due to silicon manufacturing. With the fusion of nanotechnology and electronics (nanotronics), these tags should become cheaper, easier to implement and more efficient.
A group of scientists from Northern European food industries have created a Nanofood consortium with the aim of fostering the applications of nanotechnology in the food industry in a responsible manner, to strengthen the effort to develop healthy and safe foods. The founding companies include Arla Foods, Danisco A/S, Aarhus United A/S, Danish Crown amba, Systematic Software Engineering A/S, and the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO). With a mission to provide safe food to consumers, the consortium’s priorities are: to develop sensors which can almost instantly reveal whether a food sample contains toxic compounds or bacteria; to develop anti-bacterial surfaces for machines involved in food production; to develop thinner, stronger and cheaper wrappings for food; and the creation of food with a healthier nutritional composition.
A study by Denmark’s Centre for Advanced Food Studies (LMC), an alliance of Danish institutions working in food sciences, has structured their priorities for the 7th Framework programme.
The six priority areas are:
* basic understanding of food and animal feed for intelligent innovation
* systems biology in food research
* biological renewal in the food sector/biological production
* technology development
* nutrigenomics
* consumer needs-driven innovation and food communication
They believe that a focus on these areas will create a holistic and an interdisciplinary approach in food research and development in Europe. They are aiming to produce nanomaterials with functional properties, along with nanosensors and nanofluidic technology to be applied in food sciences. Other interests include the development of intelligent packaging materials, making it possible to monitor the condition of products during transportation or in display counters, and bio based packaging techniques.
The financial outlook for nanotechnology enabled packaging looks buoyant. The current packaging market stands at 1.1 billion USD and is predicted to increase to 3.7 billion USD by 2010. Within this, the Smart Packaging industry is growing faster than predicted and is already showing signs of maturity. Research by the financial firm Frost and Sullivan, found that today’s consumers demand much more from packaging in terms of protecting the quality, freshness and safety of foods, as well as convenience. They conclude that this is one of the main reasons behind the increased interest in innovative methods of packaging.26 There are several organizations developing Smart Packaging systems. For example, Kraft foods, along with researchers at Rutgers University in the US, is developing an “electronic tongue” for inclusion in packaging. This consists of an array of nanosensors which are extremely sensitive to gases released by food as it spoils, causing the sensor strip to change colour as a result, giving a clear visible signal of whether the food is fresh or not. Bayer Polymers has developed the Durethan KU2-2601 packaging film, which is lighter, stronger and more heat resistant than those currently on the market. The primary purpose of food packaging films is to prevent contents from drying out and to protect them from moisture and oxygen. The new film is known as a “hybrid system” that is enriched with an enormous number of silicate nanoparticles.
These massively reduce the entrance of oxygen and other gases, and the exit of moisture, thus preventing food from spoiling. Breweries would ideally use plastic bottles to ship beer, as these are lighter than glass and cheaper than metal cans. However, alcohol in beer reacts with the plastic used for the bottles, severely shortening shelf-life. Voridan, in association with Nanocor, has developed a nanocomposite containing clay nanoparticles, called Imperm. The resultant bottle is both lighter and stronger than glass and is less likely to shatter. The nanocomposite structure minimises loss of carbon dioxide from the beer and the ingress of oxygen to the bottle, keeping the beer fresher and giving it up to a six-month shelf life.28 The technology has been adopted by several companies including the Miller Brewing Co.. Honeywell Specialty Polymers, has also successfully engineered plastic beer bottles that incorporate nanocomposites giving an extended shelf life (up to 26 weeks).
The “Aegis” nylon 6 is the barrier layer in this 3-layered construction and has been used since late 2003 in the 1.6-litre Hite Pitcher beer bottle from Hite Brewery Co. in South Korea. In a different strategy, Kodak is developing antimicrobial films that have the ability to absorb oxygen from the contents of the package, thus impeding food deterioration.
Other organizations are looking at ways in which nanotechnology can offer improvements in sensitivity or ease by which contamination of food is detected. For example, AgroMicron has developed the NanoBioluminescence Detection Spray which contains a luminescent protein that has been engineered to bind to the surface of microbes such as Salmonella and E. coli. When bound, it emits a visible glow, thus allowing easy detection of contaminated food or beverages. The more intense the glow is, the higher the bacterial contamination. The company aims to market the product under the name BioMark and is currently designing new spray techniques to apply in ocean freight containerized shipping as well as to fight bioterrorism.
In a similar strategy to ensure food safety, EU researchers in the Good Food Project have developed a portable nanosensor to detect chemicals, pathogens and toxins in food.31 This circumvents the need to send samples to laboratories (which is both costly and lengthy), allowing food to be analysed for safety and quality at the farm, abattoir, during transport, processing or at the packaging plant. The project is also developing a device using DNA biochips to detect pathogens- a technique that could also be applied to determine the presence of different kinds of harmful bacteria in meat or fish, or fungi affecting fruit. The project also has plans to develop microarray sensors that can be used to identify pesticides on fruit and vegetables as well as those which will monitor environmental conditions at the farm. These have been coined “Good Food sensors”.
The EU-funded BioFinger project, which has the aim of developing “versatile, inexpensive, and easy-to-use diagnostic tools for health, environmental and other applications”, has found a different application in food analysis. The device uses cantilever technology, in which the tip of the cantilever is coated with chemicals allowing it to bend and resonate when it binds specific molecules (such as those on the surface of bacteria). The BioFinger device incorporates the cantilevers on a disposable microchip making it small and portable.32 The US military is developing super sensors to be used in times of terrorist attacks on food supplies. Current systems can take several days to confirm the presence of pathogens in food, however new nanotechnology enabled super sensors will be able to detect pathogens immediately. Such technology would have widespread applications in the food industry. Researchers at the University of Bonn are developing dirt repellent coatings for packages
using the lotus effect (water beads and runs off the surface of lotus leaves as a result of nanoscale wax pyramids which coat the leaves). Abattoirs and meat processing plants in particular could benefit from such technology. A research group at the University of Leeds in UK has determined that nanoparticles of magnesium oxide and zinc oxide are highly effective at destroying microorganisms. As these would be much cheaper to manufacture than silver nanoparticles, this could have tremendous applications in food packaging.
Nanotechnology has also found applications in monitoring and tagging of food items. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology was developed by the military more than 50 years ago, but has now found its way to numerous applications from food monitoring in shops to improving supply chain efficiency. The technology, which consists of microprocessors and an antenna that can transmit data to a wireless receiver, can be used to monitor an item from the warehouse to the consumer’s hands.
Unlike bar codes, which need to be scanned manually and read individually, RFID tags do not require line-of-sight for reading and it is possible to automatically read hundreds of tags a second. Retailing chains like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Metro group, and Tesco, have already tested this technology.
The main drawback is the increased production costs due to silicon manufacturing. With the fusion of nanotechnology and electronics (nanotronics), these tags should become cheaper, easier to implement and more efficient.
A group of scientists from Northern European food industries have created a Nanofood consortium with the aim of fostering the applications of nanotechnology in the food industry in a responsible manner, to strengthen the effort to develop healthy and safe foods. The founding companies include Arla Foods, Danisco A/S, Aarhus United A/S, Danish Crown amba, Systematic Software Engineering A/S, and the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO). With a mission to provide safe food to consumers, the consortium’s priorities are: to develop sensors which can almost instantly reveal whether a food sample contains toxic compounds or bacteria; to develop anti-bacterial surfaces for machines involved in food production; to develop thinner, stronger and cheaper wrappings for food; and the creation of food with a healthier nutritional composition.
A study by Denmark’s Centre for Advanced Food Studies (LMC), an alliance of Danish institutions working in food sciences, has structured their priorities for the 7th Framework programme.
The six priority areas are:
* basic understanding of food and animal feed for intelligent innovation
* systems biology in food research
* biological renewal in the food sector/biological production
* technology development
* nutrigenomics
* consumer needs-driven innovation and food communication
They believe that a focus on these areas will create a holistic and an interdisciplinary approach in food research and development in Europe. They are aiming to produce nanomaterials with functional properties, along with nanosensors and nanofluidic technology to be applied in food sciences. Other interests include the development of intelligent packaging materials, making it possible to monitor the condition of products during transportation or in display counters, and bio based packaging techniques.
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