Meat Gets Colored Freshness Indicator.

A new freshness indicator is coming to the world of packaged meat.

A colored sensor strip has been developed for use on packaged meat products. A full yellow bar would indicate “fresh” and full blue would indicate “rotten.” The sensor changes color based on the amount of smelly amine molecules released from the decaying meat.  The more molecules released, the more the yellow sensor turns blue. 

The sensor could change the way we think about meat freshness. Today, most people rely on look, smell, and expiration date to judge whether it’s ok to eat a piece of meat.  The sensor would make the process more scientific and safe.

The grocery store might be forced to start selling fresher meat rather than slapping an arbitrary expiration date on it and marketing it as “fresh.”

I think the color sensor is also subtle a reminder that meat is actually decaying flesh and when you put it that way, how fresh can you really get?