Cutting-edge technology from the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER) in Pune could revolutionize the way we identify rotten fruits and vegetables. A team of researchers at IISER has successfully developed an LED light source that can detect the freshness of food items, even if they appear fresh from the outside.
By flashing the LED light on fruits and vegetables, consumers, store owners, farmers, and stockists can quickly identify any signs of rot, saving them from potential wastage. What makes this innovation even more remarkable is its ability to spot the early stages of decay, ensuring that the produce is still suitable for consumption.
The device utilizes a material called ‘perovskite,’ making it an ideal tool for quality control in the food industry. The researchers’ work has been published in the prestigious journal ‘Angewandte Chemie’ this month.
The brilliant minds behind this breakthrough include Sajid Saikia, Animesh Ghosh, and Angshuman Nag, who are part of the IISER Pune team. Their modified LEDs allow for detailed examination of fruits like apples or strawberries, revealing hidden dark spots that evade standard camera images.
Speaking about the project, Angshuman Nag explained, “Illuminating the food with both white and near-infrared (NIR) light revealed normal coloring visible to the naked eye, as well as those areas that were just starting to rot and not visible otherwise.”
While the LED technology has shown great promise, the researchers acknowledge the need for cost-effective solutions for everyday use. Currently, commercially available infrared cameras, necessary for detecting rot in food images, are quite expensive, costing lakhs of rupees.
Nag assured, “We will have to work on low-cost infrared cameras. Once that happens, it can be developed for market use.”
Already, NIR technology is employed in the food industry to assess freshness in fruits and vegetables. Sajid Saikia explained, “Food contains water, which absorbs the broad near-infrared emission at around 1,000 nm. The more water that is present due to rotting, the greater the absorption of near-infrared radiation, yielding darker contrast in an image taken under near-infrared radiation. This easy, non-invasive imaging process can estimate the water content in different parts of food, assessing its freshness.”
With further advancements in cost-effective infrared cameras, this innovation could soon become a game-changer in reducing food wastage and ensuring consumers enjoy fresh produce.
