Scientists designed color-changing carbon dot biosensors that can detect spoiled meat in sealed packages in real-time, just in case you don’t trust the sniff-test.

  • Auster@thebrainbin.org
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    6 days ago

    If people don’t trust it either, there’s also an alternative, reading the package for the expected spoiling date.

    • village604@adultswim.fan
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      6 days ago

      That date means nothing. It’s a best by date, not an expiration date. It’s just the last date you can get a refund if it goes bad.

      But I’ve had a gallon of milk last a whole month after the best by date.

      • RamRabbit@lemmy.world
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        6 days ago

        Yeah, the date on the package means even less if you freeze it. Frozen meat is good for years.

        (Freeze your ground beef, freeze your bread. Throwing away food is expensive!)

        • CallMeAl (Not AI)@piefed.zip
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          5 days ago

          Yes, and freeze sauces, soups, and stews in ice cube trays and then into freezer bags for easy portioning later. This was life changing advice for me.

          • felbane@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            Freeze your mom, freeze your dad!
            Freeze your recent high school grad!
            Freeze the dog, freeze the cat!
            Freeze your hurble durble sprat!

            Freeze it all or freeze it none,
            If it’s frozen you have won;
            Freezing everything you see
            Will grant you immortality!

    • tiramichu@sh.itjust.works
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      6 days ago

      The expiry date has been a necessary and useful tool, but these dots seem like they could be a good idea if they can actually sense when spoilage happens.

      Meat could have been exposed to bad conditions that makes it spoil before the expected date.

      But maybe even bigger is that the date is always going to be very much on the side of caution, so it might avoid waste where people tend to bin stuff as soon as the expiry hits, even though that food may still be perfectly good.