Freshness Indicator Based on Smart Paper Developed By CIFT

Smart paper based Freshness Indicator which shows the freshness of packed fish and shellfish was released by Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Govt. of India in presence of  Piyush Goyal, Union minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry,  ParshottamRupala, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare,  Kailash Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare,  Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Union Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, Rao Inderjit Singh, Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Surya Pratap Shahi, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Uttar Pradesh,  Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) and Sanjay Kumar Singh, I.A.S., Additional Secretary (DARE) & Secretary (ICAR) at 91st Annual General Meeting of the ICAR held at NASC Complex, on 27 February 2020 at New Delhi.

B. Pradhan, I.A.S. Additional Secretary (DARE) and Financial Advisor (ICAR) and Dr. Joy Krushna Jena, Deputy Director General, Fisheries, ICAR, New Delhi were also present among other dignitaries

Fish production as well as fish consumption is on rise both in domestic and international market. Understanding the ever increasing demand for fish, retail marketing and online marketing is flourishing across India and the price of fish is also increasing. Consumers are always at doubt regarding the freshness / quality of fish and shellfish while purchasing. Fish being highly perishable, undergoes spoilage leading to formation of various chemicals (oxidation products and amines) which may affect the health of the consumers. The fish quality is either ensured by sensory attributes or by analytical methods. However, the analytical methods are time consuming, costly and are not real time in nature. This has resulted in relying on sensory quality assessment to judge the quality of fish being marketed. However, sensory quality analysis is qualitative and it can be biased and hence, quality control requires rapid methods for measuring fish freshness in real time. Smart packaging technology will be beneficial for this purpose. Under Honourable Prime Minister’s prestigious 100 days programme, ICAR-CIFT has developed simple dye based paper disc to indicate the freshness of packed fish and shell fishes. 

Salient Features of Easy to Use Freshness Indicator developed by ICAR-CIFT - The indicator strip developed is to be attached inside the pack without coming in direct contact with the fish and shell fish.

The paper based indicator disc will react with the volatile compounds produced by the fish and shell fish and gives a colour change, which can be read by the consumers to confirm the freshness of the fish and shell-fish. These indicators are also useful for the manufacturers, fish processing industry and for retail markets as they can use these freshness indicators to monitor the extent of quality loss and can adopt good practices to provide quality fish products to the consumers there by reducing post-harvest losses. 

Benefits- Indicates quality of packed fish by simple colour change; Inform freshness of the product to supply chain and consumer; Cheap (Only 40 Paisa per pack);Simple and Easy to use; Ensures quality and healthy fish to consumers; Increases customer satisfaction and trust; Expensive and time consuming tests are not needed; Better management control to reduce Post-harvest loss 

Financial Implications- Freshness indicator strips / discs are developed using locally available indigenous materials like filter paper and dyes and cost will be approximately 40 paise per pack. Considering the advantages for both the consumer and manufacturers, the financial implications will be very negligible.  

For Detailed Information, the interested may contact: Dr Ravishankar, C. N., Director, ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Willingdon Island, Kochi