Turkey has developed an NFC sensor for a refrigerator. He "feels" rotten foods

Scientists from the private Koç University in Istanbul (Türkiye) created a tiny sensor capable of monitoring the freshness of protein-rich foods in real time. He will be able to check whether the meat, fish and chicken stored in the refrigerator are in order.

When high-protein foods begin to spoil, they release biogenic amines. These are organic compounds that are potentially toxic to humans. According to their content, the freshness of products can be monitored, although this is not easy. Now, to monitor the level of these compounds, expensive stationary devices are needed, which can only be operated by trained personnel. But the development of Turkish scientists is changing this.

We are talking about a small and cheap-to-manufacture sensor that can be placed in a refrigerator, and the monitoring results can be received on a smartphone. It does not require charging and uses a wireless connection, powered by an NFC-enabled smartphone nearby.

The sensor relies on electrodes that use capacitive sensors to detect biogenic amines. For durability, the electrodes are laminated with a polymer layer that is easy to synthesize. Such a "sandwich" has dimensions of 2 cm² and weighs only 2 grams, it can be easily attached to the inner wall of the refrigerator.

The authors note that they tested the sensor on chicken and beef samples that were stored under different conditions.

The researchers argue that such a sensor can be produced cheaply and simply used. It will allow you to continuously monitor the status of protein products on the shelves of a supermarket or in a regular home refrigerator. This development will be useful not only to improve safety during storage and transportation of meat, but also to reduce food waste. It is assumed that thanks to monitoring, meat can be saved when the level of biogenic amines has already begun to rise, but has not yet approached dangerous values.