New app to determine food freshness.

For the most part, it is impossible for most of us to be able to tell if a food will cause us food poisoning just by looking and smelling it. Of course, if a food smells or looks funny, except for some speciality cheeses, we know not to eat it.

We also can’t tell by looking at a perishable product in the supermarket if it has been temperature abused during transport and storage. We can’t see the amount of food poisoning bacteria that may be on and in the food.

A brand new device is now available for the average consumer to use, which will tell accurately just how much shelf life a food containing meat, seafood or poultry has left.

It is called the PERES and when used with the app for your mobile phone, can tell you about the freshness and quality of any meat, poultry and seafood. It is suitable for use on vegetables at this stage.

It is what is known as an electronic nose, and is able to identify various chemical compounds in the air around these protein based foods. It is the presence and level of these chemicals that the PERES using to determine the remaining shelf life of the food.

The hand held device does not look for bacteria but the specific chemicals around the protein based foods that indicate the state of decomposition. It then uses this information to show the remaining shelf life through the app on your mobile phone.

Augustas Alesiunas, CEO of ARS Lab (the creators of the PERES) said; “We have worked with some of the best scientists and developers in the industry to create a working prototype, and are excited to continue developing the product so it can be made widely available later this year.”

Not only does this device have the potential to reduce food poisoning, but will have an impact on lowering the ridiculous amount of food waste we generate each year.

You can find more information at http://www.getperes.com/

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach