Brasil Pack Trends 2020

BrasilPackTrends2020 163 qual ity and new technologies FIGURE 6.30 FreshPoint’s time- temperature indicator Source: Press Release electric signal. Some nanosensors gather receptive and transductive elements, which mean that they can detect changes and act according them. Some examples are the microbiological growth sensors that release preservatives. The nanosensors show advantages such as high sensitivity and selectivity, fast response, portability and compatible cost with the application in mature markets. The innovations in the field of portable biodetection, especially the ones based on the bionanosensors platform in replacement of traditional immunologic tests, have been motivated not only by the high risk infectious diseases, but also by the bioterrorism. Nanomaterials built with nanolayers from different metals (gold, silver and nickel) are capable of work as nanobarcodes to detect the botulinum toxin, anthrax and a variety of pathogens. The oxygen sensors with smart inks that change their colors in contact with oxygen are examples of smart packages that can alert suppliers, retailers and consumers about alterations in the product by the action of the oxygen. An example of applied nanotechnology on oxygen sensors is the AgelessEye by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, which turns into pink at the lack of oxygen in the package and into blue when it detects oxygen in the package headspace. It is expected that the advancement in the use of nanomaterials increase the sensitivity of those sensors and allow faster responses and more intense coloration changes. Besides the sensors, a launch of an indicator using nanotechnology (Timestrip’s nano-TTI system) is the iStrip, designed to detect the accidental freezing of refrigerated products. The system is based on colloidal gold (nanomaterial), which is red at temperatures above 0°C, but the freezing agglomerates the gold nanoparticles that results in a transparent solution indicating an accidental freezing of the product. The company FreshPoint sells a series of time- temperature indicators called CoolVu, for temperature sensitive products. They work as an expire date label. The label is assembled from a metal label and a transparent label containing an etchant. At the packaging line, the indicators are applied on the package, activated and begin to show to suppliers, retailers and consumers the shelf life of the product. They are calibrated according to the product sensitivity to the temperature (Figure 6.30). The possibilities of improvement of the barrier, mechanical and thermal properties of the package materials through the application of nanotechnology will help the use of biopolymers, which properties are one of the limiting factors for its application in packaging. Montmorillonite and kaolinite clay, graphene, cellulose nanofibers and chitosan are promising, though there is the need for researches for optimization of the biopolymer/nanoparticle/plastifying system and for the improvement of processing technologies. Some examples of nanocomposites-based biopolymers are the NanoBioTer ® (to be approved) and Degradal ® (under development, by Nanobiomatters) that incorporates additives in nanometric scale to control Improvement of biopolymers properties