Brasil Pack Trends 2020

BrasilPackTrends2020 153 qual ity and new technologies Smart packages communicate and monitor information about the content and the environment of a product to the consumer, retailer and producer. Usually they are devices incorporated in the package, applied on it as a label and even fixed on the product. We can fit in that category: time-temperature indicators, ripening and freshness indicators, oxygen indicators, ethylene indicators, pathogenic microorganisms and toxins indicators, carbon dioxide indicators, counterfeiting indicators, biosensors (pathogens detection) and devices with many other functionalities. The indicators work in a passive way, sourcing information about the freshness, microbiological safety and quality of the products. Innovations in the sensors technologies, such as nanosensors and biosensors, are increasing the application possibilities of smart packages. The search for safety and traceability has moved developments on. The trend for cost and size reduction of electronics components also helps the sector. The possibility of embed those sensors in traceability and monitoring systems will allow that many links of the supply chain have access to the collected information. The compatibilization and incorporation of those sensors in package materials should be evolving. 6.2 SMART PACKAGES The time and temperature indicators – TTI show the thermal history of the product and whether exposed to extreme conditions during the distribution chain. That allows any action to be done by the distribution chain and also alerts the consumer to the product safety. The evolution of this technology can lead us to the replacement of the expire date by a more precise indication of quality given by the indicator. They are devices that can be generally used in the retail package or in the industrial packages of ingredients and raw material. Many indicators do not measure the quality of the product directly; therefore they need to be tailor-made to the kinetic of deterioration/alteration of the product in which it is going to be used. The time-temperature indicators can also be used as a microbiological quality indicator, once they are tailored to the microbiological deterioration process of the product. The technologies associated to time-temperature indicators are linked to: the migration of a ink/dye through a porous material, which depends on the temperature and time; the chemical, enzymatic or polymerization reaction, which rate depends on temperature; temperature sensitive inks and pigments; and pH indicators. Most of the indicators work based in the color change. A potential field for development is the association of those time-temperature indicators with control and traceability technologies. The temperature monitoring technologies have become more effective, easy to use and on an affordable price. PakSense has developed a programmable monitoring label, with LED indicators that show any temperature fluctuation out of the specified range, allowing a fast identification of packing problems in the transportation and distribution of the product (Figure 6.16). The register initialization is pretty simple, requiring only folding one of the label edges to activate. It is still possible to collect the registered data using a proprietary reading device, plotting graphs and reports that allow the user to completely visualize the occurrences over time. The company FreshPoint offers various solutions of time-temperature indicators, commercially named OnVu Logistic (Figure 6.17), co-developed with Ciba Specialty Chemicals, now part of BASF group. The system is based on an “intelligent” ink that changes its color at a rate determined by the actual temperature that the product was exposed to. It can be applied on the conventional label or on the package. The indicator is activated by a UV radiation source at the packaging Time-temperature indicators