Monitoring the quality of raw poultry by detecting hydrogen sulfide with printed sensors

• A concept of intelligent food packaging is presented.
• A sensor which can operate in real broiler meat package environment is demonstrated.
• An integrated sensor in RLC circuit enabling wireless detection of H2S is shown.
• Chemoresistor monitors volatile H2S produced during spoilage of broiler meat.

Food quality and safety are controlled by legislation and monitored both by food industry players and regional and national authorities in a food supply chain. The need for more precise estimation of shelf life and faster results from food pathogen tests has resulted in the development of novel food quality sensors. Intelligent food packages are the concept toward traceability and real time monitoring of food. Herein we present the usage of printed and low-cost copper acetate-based sensors for monitoring the quality of raw broiler meat. The sensor operates by detecting hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as an end product of the microbial metabolism. The sensors responded to H2S at +6 °C accumulated in modified atmosphere, packaged broiler meat. A concept of the sensor platform, in which the sensor is combined with a printed planar coil antenna and printed capacitor to construct a wirelessly readable printed resonance circuit, is also presented. The sensor is suitable for large-scale production, which could make it inexpensive enough to be integrated in a low-cost retail food package.