Sistemi innovativi per il miglioramento della qualità e della sicurezza degli alimenti

In the actual context, characterized by a high attention to quality and safety of foods and to the solutions designed to guarantee them, the implementation of microelectronic systems for the control of the product through miniaturized and low cost devices, can be a strategic opportunity. Subject of this PhD course were the study of the use of innovative sensors and instrumentation for the measurement and control of environmental parameters of preservation of food products and for their identification by means of radio frequency technology. With this aim, the context in which they operate the main actors in the food industry has been studied and has been developed an idea of label designed to be capable of emitting an active alarm signal in case of need (intelligent semi-passive RFID tag). The prototype chip, has been tested both as a measuring instrument, both in terms of performance in the case study of the monitoring of the preservation of a food product. The prototype has been validated positively for measures and reliability was confirmed in the study case of monitoring the quality conditions of cheese samples stored under controlled conditions of temperature and light exposure. The significant evidences of analytical degradation of the quality of the product, such as changes of pH and color, collected during the observation period of 64 days, reflected the measurements taken by the prototype chip. The results invite to find an industrial partner with whom to experience the application of the proposed technology.