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Mimica’s food spoilage indicator uses a gel that liquefies as food spoils, revealing bumps that consumers can detect by touch.
Reducing food waste
Jonas Ricknell, Manufacturing Engineer, Mimica.
Mimica is combatting global food waste by developing time- and temperature-sensitive packaging labels which turn from smooth to bumpy once the food is no longer safe to consume.
Food suppliers often provide over-cautious expiry dates as they do not know what conditions customers will store their food in after purchase. This leads to a significant amount of food and drink getting thrown away when it is still safe to consume. Mimica’s food spoilage indicator, Bump, uses gel chemistry that liquefies as food spoils, revealing bumps that consumers can detect by touch.
The gel system was designed in partnership with Wrexham Glyndŵr University and mimics food spoilage timelines. For each type of food or drink, the gel is calibrated using data from industry standard spoilage tests so that it decomposes at the same rate as the product inside. When the food has spoiled and the gel liquefies, the plastic bumps give a clear indication to consumers that the food should no longer be consumed.
By partnering with a larger industry organisation, UNITED CAPS, Jonas and his team were able to design an innovative cap for standard drinks bottles which activates the gel system as soon as it is unscrewed by the customer. Working with Intretech UK also enabled Mimica to scale up the gel chemistry system to levels needed for commercial production.
Although their current priority is putting the labels on UK juice caps by the end of 2023, they are also working on a packaging tag format for the meat and fish market.