ISM 2020

••• 10••• Innovationen A sensor detects traces of impurities, pesticides and antibiotics in milk within five minutes. Photo: Lomig on Unsplash Test to ensure milk quality Fraunhofer researchers work to improve consumer health S tandards of food safety and food quality have never been higher in Germany and throughout the Europe- an Union. This is especially true in the dairy industry. Yet despite such high standards, traces of impurities, pesticides and antibi- otics can find their way into milk, with sometimes serious conse- quences for consumer health. In the EU-funded project MOLOKO, Fraunhofer researchers have teamed up with partners to de- velop a new optoplasmonic sen- sor designed to provide fast, on-site analysis of safety and quality parameters for milk. This early-warning system will bring the industry substantial savings in time and money as well as a drastic reduction in wasted prod- uct, thereby helping to improve performance along the entire supply chain. Results are ready in fiveminutes Food safety is a critical factor in the food industry, not least in the dairy sec- tor. Here, udder infections can lead to harmful organisms entering the milk, and chemical substances such as antibi- otics or pesticides can contaminate the product via fodder or as a result of inad- equate control of equipment and stor- age facilities. In order to prevent adul- terated milk entering the food chain, checks are conducted throughout the entire production process and supply chain. Yet these standard tests are ex- pensive and time-consuming. Samples are taken from milk tankers containing a mixture of product collected from any number of dairy farms and then ana- lysed in the lab. If the milk proves to be contaminated, the entire load must be destroyed, with high losses for all of the farmers and dairies concerned. If there were a test with which farmers could check their own milk before it is collect- ed by the tanker, such wastage could be avoided. In the project MOLOKO (Multiplex phO- tonic sensor for pLasmonic-based On- line detection of contaminants in milK), twelve partners from seven countries – including one dairy – have devised a fast and inexpensive test for identifying quality factors in milk. In a test lasting around five minutes, a new optoplas- monic sensor analyses the product for a total of six substances, thereby provid- ing a supplementary check and an early- warning system within the supply chain, well before the milk is pumped into the tanker. The sensor is functionalised with receptors for specific antibodies that serve as indicators of various quality and safety parameters for milk. It thereby al- lows dairy farms to carry out automat- ed, on-site quantitative analyses. The entire system consists of a re- usable microfluidic chip, organic light-emitting transistors (OLETs) or diodes (OLEDs), a sensor com- prising organic photodetectors (OPDs), a nanostructured plas- monic grating and the specific antibodies. The organic photode- tector is undergoing development at the Fraunhofer Institute for Or- ganic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP) and the microfluidic chip at the Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems (ENAS). The OLET, meanwhile, is being developed by CNR-ISMN in Bologna, and the photonic grating by the company Plasmore Srl in Pavia, both in Italy. Coordinator of the project is CNR- ISMN. “The unique thing about our chip is that it can be reused,” explains Andreas Morschhauser, researcher at Fraunhofer ENAS. In fact, the estimated life of the chip is 100 test cycles. In each test, a to- tal of six parameters relating to contam- inants and proteins are measured. The aim is to use this biosensor at various points along the value chain – both as a lab device and directly installed in dairy equipment. Moreover, it will also be suitable for test- ing the quality of liquids other than milk, such as beer or water. The only adjust- ment required is a modification to the immobilised capture molecules and to the requisite reaction buffer. This would merely involve replacing the capture molecules with ones suitably modified for the purpose in question. A sensor analyses milk. Photo: Fraunhofer FEP Smartphone wird zum Fitnessberater Das Thema „Food Scanner“ ge- winnt zunehmend an Bedeutung. Seit knapp zehn Jahren ist die Fraunhofer-Allianz Food Chain Ma- nagement auch auf dem Gebiet der spektroskopischen Lebens- mittelanalytik aktiv. Als Teil der Al- lianz hat das Fraunhofer Institut für Photonische Mikrosysteme (IPMS) in Dresden eine Idee zum Patent angemeldet, die es ermög- licht, mit einem Smartphone Le- bensmittel nicht nur zu analysie- ren, sondern diese auch zu vermessen und ihren Nährwert zu berechnen. Das Smartphone soll nicht nur einzelne Lebensmitteler- zeugnisse hinsichtlich ihrer Quali- tät analysieren, sondern zum indi- viduellen Er nähr ungs- und Fitnessberater werden. Neben der Bestimmung der Qualität ei- ner Speise wird diese per 3D-Trian- gulation vermessen, wodurch sich die Menge und der echte Nähr- wert ermitteln lassen. Anschlie- ßend führen intelligente Algorith- men diese Daten mit den individuellen Parametern des Nut- zers (Größe, Gewicht usw.) sowie mit Daten der Bewegungsanalyse zusammen. Hieraus wird das Ver- hältnis von Nährwertaufnahme und -verbrauch ermittelt und eine Empfehlung für den Nutzer er- möglicht. Auch an der berüh- rungslosen Analyse des Reifegra- des von Obst oder der Frische von Gemüse arbeiten die Forscher. Impressum ISM und ProSweets Cologne 2020 Verlag: CONNEX Print & Multimedia AG Lavesstraße 3 30159 Hannover Telefon: +49 511 830936 Telefax: +49 511 56364608 E-Mail: connex@die-messe.de Internet: www.die-messe.de Auflage IVW-geprüft. Auflagengruppe: C Redaktion: Claudia Ballhause Verantwortlich für den Anzeigenteil: Sascha Könecke Druck: Rheinische DruckMedien GmbH, 40196 Düsseldorf MESSEJOURNAL DIE MESSE