New Device to Eliminate Food Wastage

New device developed by researchers tests whether the food is safe for consumption, this could greatly reduce food waste worldwide, say researchers.

Millions of tons of food are thrown away each year because the 'best before' date has passed.

But the listed date is always a cautious estimate, which means a lot of edible food is thrown away.

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology, Universita di Catania, CEA-Liten and STMicroelectronics have developed a plastic analog-digital converter circuit that could make in-package food testing possible.

Such circuits could cost less than a penny each, they said, making them economically viable as a food testing aid.

To fight food waste, producers could include an electronic sensor circuit in their packaging to monitor the acidity level of the food, for example.

The sensor circuit could be read with a scanner or with your mobile phone to show the freshness of your steak, or whether your frozen food was defrosted.

"In principle that's all already possible, using standard silicon ICs. The only problem is they're too expensive. They easily cost ten cents. And that cost is too much for a one euro bag of crisps. We're now developing electronic devices that are made from plastic rather than silicon. The advantage is you can easily include these plastic sensors in plastic packaging," researcher Eugenio Cantatore of Eindhoven University of Technology, said.

The plastic semiconductor can even be printed on all kinds of flexible surfaces, which makes it cheaper to use. And it makes sensor circuits costing less than one eurocent achievable.

Mom’s snacking makes baby a fast food addict

Moms-to-be, please note! Munching on junk food during pregnancy may raise the risk of your babies becoming addicted to fast food, a new study has claimed.

Pregnant mothers who consume junk food actually cause changes in the development of the opioid signalling pathway in the brains of their unborn children.

This change results in the babies being less sensitive to opioids, which are released upon consumption of foods that are high in fat and sugar.

In turn, these children, born with a higher “tolerance” to junk food need to eat more of it to achieve a “feel good” response, the study published in FASEB journal reported.

“The results of this research will ultimately allow us to better inform pregnant women about the lasting effect their diet has on the development of their child’s lifelong good preferences and risk of metabolic disease,” said Beverly Muhlhausler, a researcher involved in the work from the FOODplus Research Centre at the School of Agriculture Food and Wine at The University of Adelaide in Adelaide, Australia.

“Hopefully, this will encourage mothers to make healthier diet choices which will lead to healthier children,” Muhlhausler said.

Muhlausler and colleagues studied the pups of two groups of rats, one of which had been fed a normal rat food and the other which had been fed a range of human “junk foods” during pregnancy and lactation.

After weaning, the pups were given daily injections of an opioid receptor blocker, which blocks opioid signalling.

Blocking opioid signalling lowers the intake of fat and sugar by preventing the release of dopamine.
Results showed that the opioid receptor blocker was less effective at reducing fat and sugar intake in the pups of the junk food fed mothers, suggesting that the opioid signalling pathway in these offspring is less sensitive than for pups whose mothers are eating a standard rat feed.

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