Real-Time Monitoring of Food Spoilage Through Electrochemical Sensors

Food spoilage, driven by microbial metabolism and oxidative reactions, releases VOCs like ammonia and ethanol. Screen-Printed Electrodes (SPEs) offer smart, real-time, non-invasive detection in perishables—enabling early intervention, ensuring food safety, and preventing hidden contamination before it’s even visible.

Early spoilage monitoring prevents bacterial contamination and economic losses. Real-time sensing is vital for sensitive foods like fish, milk, meat, and cut fruits, where degradation begins before visible signs appear.

SPE-based sensors are deployed in seafood packaging to detect biogenic amines, in milk containers to monitor lactic acid build-up, and in fruit storage to track ethanol during overripening or fermentation.

SPEs are miniaturized electrochemical platforms fabricated via conductive ink printing. They're low-cost, disposable, and ideal for embedding in smart labels or IoT devices for field-deployable, point-of-need food spoilage monitoring.

Alphaion develops eco-friendly, nanomaterial-enhanced SPE sensors tailored for real-time spoilage detection. Their scalable systems integrate with food packaging, offering portable, intelligent sensing for supply chain transparency and food safety.