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Alarm System for Spoiled Milk

by Terrence O'Brien on March 14, 2008 at 09:02 AM

Alarm System for Spoiled Milk
Any of you who have ever gotten food poisoning know how amazingly unpleasant it can be (and that's putting it lightly). One of the worst culprits is sour milk. The sniff-and-taste method is dangerous, and most people don't actually bother to check before pouring themselves a cold glass of moo juice.

A group of Chinese and American scientists have developed a widget that will at least prevent already spoiled milk from making it to store shelves. A small metal ribbon is placed inside the carton and sets off an alarm if the milk has gone bad.

The cartons would be passed through a detector at the store that generates a magnetic field. The magnet would cause the ribbon to vibrate. If the milk has gone sour it gets thicker slowing the vibrations and triggering an alarm. If the dangerous Staphylococcus aureus is present, the milk will be thinner than normal and the ribbon will move faster, also triggering the alarm.

The system will cost less than a penny per carton to implement, but getting manufacturers and stores to buy into the system is still sure to be a challenge.

From Daily Mail

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Tags: food, milk, safety

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