Time, shelf life, genes and food
In the history of human kind, there has always been a sense of love-hate relationship with time. Although we enjoy watching the different seasons of the year, we dread the loss of a dear and close family member. We, as humans, have always felt the need to understand time, so we can measure it and ultimately control it. We have agreed on how to measure it, but we have not been able to control it. This made us question, what if we measure the time of what we have around us ? What if we start measuring the time of a food product in real time? What if we let the food give us more information than just a best buy date ?
The project:
- A smart packaging with a nano-data logger that measures time, changes in temperature, changes in moisture and changes in its nutritional content;
- A smart phone that, together with an app, can read the nano-data logger and based on the information known, predicts its shelf life; and
- Based on the genes of the owner of the smart phone, the app could also give the amount of the product the user should eat. For instance, if he has a history of diabetes in his family, the app would suggest to only eat a portion of 90 g instead of the 150 g of the food.
The success of this project leads to a relevant impact in human health. It will allow the prediction of the shelf life of a food product in real time as well as to provide awareness of the amount of product to eat, based on the consumer genetic heritage.
The technology to reach this goal is already available, we only need to coordinate collaborative work, find investors and execute.
Our proposal is to use time to help us predict and prevent its effects on us.
