Traditional packaging works as a barrier that slows the ingress of oxygen, moisture, and microbes, but it doesn’t reveal what’s happening inside. Intelligent packaging goes a step further by adding features that respond to changes in pH, gas levels, or temperature, providing visible signs of product condition.1,2
Research on meat and seafood packaging describes two broad families of intelligent packaging: indicators and sensors. Indicators change color or texture to show freshness or package integrity, while sensors generate measurable signals. This distinction is important because indicators provide a basic yes-or-no answer about safety, while sensors provide detailed data, such as continuous measurements of gases like ammonia or carbon dioxide. This data can be linked to microbial counts and shelf-life predictions, making it far more informative than just visual cues.2,3,4
Freshness Indicators and TTIs in Practice
Freshness indicators are becoming seriously smart - especially when it comes to high-protein foods like fish and meat. Most of them measure pH or total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), two key signals that spoilage has begun. As bacteria break down amino acids (a process called deamination), they release volatile amines. Those amines shift the local pH - and that shift triggers visible colour changes in special dyes or polymers built into labels and films.
In seafood, innovation is moving fast. Tailored systems such as anthocyanin-based films, protein hydrogels, and silver nanoparticle technologies are designed to respond within critical spoilage windows - protecting both safety and sensory quality. While many of these indicators can be read with the naked eye, researchers are increasingly translating colour shifts into hard data. Techniques like red chromatic shift analysis and CIELAB colour space measurements convert images into numerical values, which can then be integrated into smartphone apps for more precise quality control.2,3,4
Time-temperature indicators (TTIs) play a different - but equally important - role. Unlike freshness indicators, TTIs don’t detect spoilage metabolites directly. Instead, they track a product’s full thermal history. Through temperature-dependent chemical or physical reactions that progress over time, they show whether a product has been exposed to damaging conditions during storage or transport.
Using kinetic models such as logistic or Arrhenius equations, TTIs can even estimate remaining shelf life when cold-chain breaches occur. That changes the game for planners, retailers, and regulators. Rather than relying only on conservative expiration dates, operators can make evidence-based decisions about inventory management, recalls, and markdowns.
Click here to download a free PDF copy of this page
The result? Less unnecessary waste - especially for high-value perishables like meat and seafood, where spoilage is often driven by cold-chain disruptions rather than true end-of-life.1,2,4
Gas Sensors as Chemical Sentinels
Gas sensors bring finer resolution to what is happening in the headspace of a pack. They identify ammonia, biogenic amines, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide, which indicate protein degradation, package leakage, or metabolic activity. Optical gas sensors use pH-sensitive dyes in biopolymers, hydrogels, or papers to monitor color or fluorescence changes resulting from gas dissolution and acid-base reactions.2,3
Ammonia and amine indicators for meat and fish illustrate the intersection of chemistry, materials design, and metrology. With anthocyanins, polydiacetylene, or cellulose-based dyes, these systems can detect amines at parts-per-million (ppm) levels within minutes, with engineered options for reversibility or single use, and are evaluated for durability under varying conditions.3,4
Carbon dioxide sensors address a different problem set. In modified atmosphere packaging, CO2 levels reveal package integrity and product respiration or microbial activity. Optical systems using CO2-sensitive pH dyes, luminescent probes, or turbidity changes in protein or chitosan matrices can indicate leaks or advanced spoilage. These platforms highlight the tradeoffs between label simplicity, detection sensitivity, and compliance with food-contact regulations.3,4
Electrochemical gas sensors extend this landscape by using conductometric, potentiometric, or amperometric formats to detect changes in resistance or current as gases interact with materials such as metal oxides, polymers, or nanomaterials. Their strengths include high sensitivity and clear calibration curves, but they usually require precise electronics and power management, making them ideal for reusable nodes rather than individual packages.1,2
Packaging as a Node in the Internet of Things (IoT)
The phrase “IoT-enabled biosensors in packaging” signifies a broader reframing of packaging as part of an information network. Biosensors for pathogens, toxins, or spoilage markers can sit on labels or films, while wireless modules, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, or near-field communication (NFC) interfaces move their data into cloud platforms. In this model, a pallet or case becomes a node that reports temperature, humidity, gas levels, and sometimes microbial risk in near real time.1,4
Research into IoT systems describes the integration of package-level sensing with warehouse management, route planning, and recall processes. Alerts for temperature or freshness can be communicated via Wi-Fi, cellular, or 5G networks, while QR codes and RFID tags enhance traceability, in compliance with standards such as ISO 22005. In the seafood and meat sectors, this connectivity strengthens cold-chain management and aids regulators and retailers in making informed decisions regarding product safety. Combining IoT data with blockchain technology creates tamper-proof records, enhancing traceability and fraud detection.1,4
Detecting Pathogenic Bacteria at Micro Scale: Trends in Rapid Microfluidic Biosensing
Migration, Regulation, and Safety-By-Design
Every extra ink, dye, polymer, or electronic component in intelligent packaging raises concerns about potential migration into food. Regulatory frameworks mandate that sensing chemistries, adhesives, and substrates either remain contained behind functional barriers or undergo migration and toxicity testing, emphasizing the safety-by-design challenge that hinders widespread adoption.3,4
Colorimetric gas indicators that use natural pigments in biopolymers look attractive for safety and sustainability, but their stability under light, heat, and humidity can limit shelf life and measurement reliability. Although synthetic dyes may improve performance, they introduce complexities in migration studies and restrictions on direct contact. Similar issues arise with TTIs, where reactive chemistries must be sealed well enough to avoid contamination while still tracking time–temperature kinetics that align with microbiological endpoints.2,3
IoT-enabled biosensors add digital and data-protection layers to this regulatory picture. They must comply with packaging and recycling rules while addressing privacy and cybersecurity concerns. Key challenges include power management, miniaturization, and interoperability, alongside the economic impact of integrating electronics into low-margin products, promoting shared high-end nodes.1,4
Across TTIs, freshness indicators, and gas sensors, the trend is clear. Packaging that thinks introduces richer measurements and new forms of risk, so metrology, materials science, and regulation need to advance together. Companies and regulators that harmonize sensing performance, migration safety, and data governance will define the transition from pilot projects to everyday meat and seafood packaging.2,4
The Future of Perishable Food Monitoring
Smart packaging that senses, records, and communicates its condition is revolutionizing the supply chain for perishable foods. Freshness indicators, TTIs, and gas sensors deliver clear signals about safety and quality, moving beyond static date codes. When integrated with digital traceability and IoT platforms, these technologies support more precise logistics and recall decisions. The challenge ahead is to harmonize metrology, cost, and migration-safe materials so that “packaging that thinks” can scale responsibly.
References and Further Reading
- Sobhan, A. et al. (2025). IoT-Enabled Biosensors in Food Packaging: A Breakthrough in Food Safety for Monitoring Risks in Real Time. Foods, 14(8). DOI:10.3390/foods14081403. https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/8/1403
- Nami, M. et al. (2024). Recent Progress in Intelligent Packaging for Seafood and Meat Quality Monitoring. Advanced Materials Technologies, 9(12), 2301347. DOI:10.1002/admt.202301347. https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/admt.202301347
- Siciliano, S. et al. (2025). Optical gas sensors in smart food bio-packaging: Innovation for monitoring the product freshness and safety. Measurement: Food, 19, 100245. DOI:10.1016/j.meafoo.2025.100245. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772275925000322
- Rahman, M. et al. (2025). Emerging trends in intelligent packaging for tackling food waste in the modern food supply chain. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 167, 105436. DOI:10.1016/j.tifs.2025.105436. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924224425005722
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author expressed in their private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited T/A AZoNetwork the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and conditions of use of this website.