What is a Time Temperature Indicator?
A time-temperature indicator, or TTI, is a smart label or device that shows the accumulated time-temperature history of a product. TTIs may be designed to indicate remaining shelf life and/or temperature abuse of a product.
How do Evigence Sensors work?
The Evigence sensor is based on aluminum etching technology, it comes in a form of a label and has two parts. One part is a thin aluminum layer and the other has a special adhesive that etches the aluminum. Once the two parts are combined using an automatic dispenser the etching process begins. This process is temperature dependent, the higher the temperature the faster it is. The etching process can be calibrated to mimic the degradation process of a perishable and reflect its remaining shelf life it by a color change. This color change is irreversible, and a sensor can never become fresher, just like the product.
How does the Evigence Sensor track shelf life?
The sensors register cumulative time-temperature exposure of perishable goods they are attached to and can reflect the remaining shelf life through color changing of the label. Activating the sensor at packaging/origination of the product, enables it to track the product from that point throughout its life, changing color as the product continues to deteriorate in accordance with the temperature conditions in which it is kept. It records all the temperature fluctuations the product goes through and color change mimics the freshness and deterioration of the product. The common type of sensors change color from green (meaning most fresh) to red (meaning perished), but the colors can be customized. Evigence sensor excels at tracking shelf life as the perishable goods flow through supply chain where the temperature changes are typical in transportation, dock receiving and stowing stage.
Is the sensor safe to be put onto produce or prepared food? Any grocery retailer or restaurant is using it?
Evigence sensors are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other authorities, for indirect food contact. Therefore, Evigence sensors may be placed on food packaging but may not be applied directly to food items (without packaging).
What is the problem with the current system of date codes?
Date codes do not account for the real-world variability in temperature that products experience throughout the supply chain, from point of manufacturing to point of consumption, and therefore are inaccurate. Date codes often communicate that a product is still fresh when it is not and conversely that a product is not fresh when it still has remaining shelf-life. These fundamental flaws result in erosion of consumer trust and loyalty and drive food waste (shrink) at the retail and consumer levels.
Does the sensor know different shelf life for different perishable products
Our sensor is designed to be highly adaptable to the unique shelf life and storage requirements of different perishable products. While the sensor itself doesn't inherently "know" the shelf life or ideal storage temperatures, it is pre-programmed during manufacturing to match specific time-temperature profiles for each product. For instance, a banana stored at 57°F has a shelf life of 6 days. Our team can pre-set the sensor to this exact profile, ensuring that the sensor will change to red in 6 days if maintained at 57°F. The rate of color change will adjust accordingly if the temperature varies, providing real-time, accurate freshness tracking. At Evigence, we customize the sensor's sensitivity by adjusting the thickness of the aluminum layer during production. This meticulous pre-setup allows our sensors to seamlessly match the diverse shelf lives of various perishable items, enhancing freshness transparency and traceability for our clients.
How do you read the remaining shelf life from a sensor?
The graphics on the sensor can be designed to show the remaining shelf life of the product in a simple key, allowing freshness in a glance. In addition, the sensor can be detected by a simple smartphone application, which records the color and translates it to the remaining shelf life of the product it attached to. This application called Smart Dot app can creates temperature traceability on an individual sensor level and can transfer data to a secure cloud location. It can be integrated into Amazon’s existing warehouse and catalog management systems.
Why are time-temperature indicators a preferred way to measure freshness?
Time and temperature are the primary variables that determine product shelf life. For example, packaged salad loses 10% of its shelf life for every 1-degree average change in temperature. A packaged salad with 10 days of shelf life at 40 degrees only has 5 days of shelf life at 45 degrees. Protein is even more sensitive. Fluctuations in temperature throughout the numerous stages of the supply chain are the reality and norm. Therefore, time-temperature indicators are the most useful tool for measuring remaining product freshness.
How are Evigence sensors applied?
The sensors come in the form of a low-cost product label that may be activated and applied automatically during high-speed manufacturing or manually at any stage of the supply chain. The sensors may be applied at any level of inventory aggregation (e.g. pallet, case, retail unit).
What is the accuracy of Evigence sensors?
Evigence is one of two companies globally that exceed the 330 World Health Organization’s criteria for vaccine vial monitoring. Evigence licensed its technology for vaccines in 2016 and pivoted to the monitoring and management of fresh foods. There is currently no other solution that provides this level of technology and granularity that enables application and monitoring down to the unit-level.
