Back then, some people can tell if the milk is already bad or still safe to drink by sniffing it. For others, though, this does not really work too well since they can hardly register in their brain whether milk is already bad or not.
Fortunately, new tech tells you when the milk’s gone bad, and this is all the outcome of experiments by engineers from the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, as well as the UC Berkeley, in the United States. Their invention was published in the July edtion of the Microsystems and Nanoengineering journal.
With this brilliant creation, there is no need for people to sniff or taste milk just to determine if they should either drink it or toss it in the trash can.
Innovative Way to Check for Spoiled Milk
This study features an end result that may not sound too much of a matter of consequence for some people, yet it can certainly solve conerns when it comes to determining if a pack of milk is spoiled or still good. For instance, there are individuals who can identify easily by smelling milk if it comes with a sour aroma while others can barely notice any difference. So, the engineers in the said universities came up with an innovative way to tell spoiled milk apart from a good one.
Their invention embeds electrical parts into plastics that are 3D-printed. The milk cap features a resonant circuit, and this can detect alterations in electrical signals, which are mainly due to bacteria present in milk. With this in mind, all you need to do is to tip the milk container slightly – just enough to allow the liquid to touch the cap. The moment you do so, it instantly determines the quality of milk. Hence, sniffing or tasting is no longer necessary.
Exploring Greater Possibilities
The rationale behind the milk cap may also be applicable to other types of food packaging. In fact, there is the possibility of simply using your mobile phone in checking for the freshness of the food before you eat it. If this is made possible, then it could save you so much money since there is no need to purchase spoiled food products and waste so much money, just to discover that t is not even safe for human consumption.
This is indeed a brilliant way to avoid having to deal with rotten milk that ends up ruining your morning routine since it spoils the taste and quality of your coffee or cereals.
The Future of Food Packaging
These smart caps that were invented by teams of engineers at UC Berkeley and National Chiao Tung University all help in making life easier for those who are only looking to buy quality milk from the market. The caps are 3-D printed and these can detect levels of bacteria in containers. You can fit in miniature electrical components into thecaps, which is capable of tracking decomposition.
So, just one flip of the carton will suffice in allowing the right amount of calcium contents onto the cap and give you precise reading. With this brilliant invention, you can be sure that the milk you buy is of the freshest quality, thus giving you the best value for your money.
Image Credit: istockphoto.com
