Sensors Indicate High Probability of Hawaiian Pizza

In a development that may usher in the food shopping of tomorrow today, a team of German scientists has developed an ingenious solution to cracking the tough nut that is the pineapple.

With a rough, almost bark-like skin that prevents one from getting a clear sense of what's going on inside the fruit, they're often eaten too soon. And when they pass peak freshness, they descend pretty rapidly into mush. Only their unparalleled tropical deliciousness keeps many of us from walking away and not looking back.

Sensing our frustration, the team has developed a device that will sense freshness. Actually, it's sensing the presence and concentration of specific hydrocarbons given off by the fruit that indicate when it's within its window of peak freshness.

Mark Buecking writes in EurekAlert that this highly specific in-line gas sampling innovation is targeted at supermarkets and their network of distribution warehouses, and is being looked at for a range of adaptations for different types of foods and the issues that arise in product quality management.

One of these potential applications presently underway is pork testing. Apparently, maturing male boars will produce a compound that is not dangerous, but highly unpleasant to humans. These sensors could pick up chemical precursors to the pig funk early enough to guide handling efforts.

Photo courtesy of Fraunhofer IPM.