• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.293-302
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• 2020

Food safety has emerged as a growing concern for human health in recent times. Consuming contaminated food may lead to serious health problems, and therefore, a system for monitoring food freshness that is both non-detrimental to the quality of food and highly accurate is required to ensure that only high-quality fresh food packages are provided to the customers. This paper proposes a method to monitor and detect food quality using a compact smart sensor tag. The smart tag is composed of three ultra-low-power sensors, which monitor four major indicators of food freshness: temperature, humidity, and the concentrations of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide gases. An RF energy scavenging circuit is integrated into the smart sensor tag to harvest energy from radio waves at a high frequency of 13.56 MHz to supply sufficient power to the tag. Experimental results show that the proposed energy harvester can efficiently obtain energy at a distance of approximately 40 cm from a 4 W reader. In addition, the proposed smart sensor tag can operate without any battery, thereby eliminating the requirement of frequent battery replacement and consequently decreasing the cost. Meanwhile, the freshness of preserved pork is continuously monitored under two conditions--room temperature and refrigerator temperature--both of which are the most common temperatures under which food is generally stored. The food-monitoring experiments are conducted over a period of one week using the proposed battery-less tag. Based on the experimental results, the food assessment is classified into four categories: fresh, normal, low, and spoiled.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2017

To visually identify the spoilage of chicken breasts, a three layered freshness indicator consisting of PET/bromocresol green (BCG)-ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)-acetic acid (AA) composite layer/porous substrates was successfully prepared and their performance were simulated at 20% of $CO_2$ and 4 different trimethylamine (TMA) concentrations to evaluate color change at minimal spoilage level. The visibility and range of color changes of the as-prepared indicators responding to TMA concentration as a simulant were strongly dependent on the concentrations of BCG and AA. As the BCG content increased, the visibility of color change in the freshness indicators was apparently improved and the range of color change could be controlled by contents of AA. Among the as-prepared freshness indicators, 'G0.12_A0.5' which consisting 0.12g of BCG and 0.5g of AA was selected as an optimum composition due to the highest visibility at TMA 20 mg% corresponding to the minimal spoilage level. The color of the indicator changed from yellow to green for spoilage indication of chicken breast, which could be easily seen with the naked eyes and well consistent with the simulation results. It is expected that our developed freshness indicator can be useful in monitoring various food freshness and quality.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.194-204
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• 2014

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop long-term storage technology for Chinese cabbage in order to extend the period of availability of freshly harvested products. The scope of the paper deals with the use of a cooler with a remote monitoring and control interface in conjunction with use of packaging film. Methods: A cooler with a real time monitoring system was designed as a low-temperature storage facility to control temperature and relative humidity (RH). The effects of storage in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic boxes, 3% chitosan dipping solution, polypropylene film (PEF) with perforations, and mesh packaging bags on physiological responses were investigated. The optimal storage temperature and humidity for 120 days were below $0.5^{\circ}C$ and 90%, respectively. Physiological and biochemical features of cabbage quality were also analyzed: weight loss, texture, and sugar salinity, chlorophyll, reducing sugar, and vitamin C contents. Results: The cooler with a remote monitoring and control interface could be operated by an HMI program. A $0.5^{\circ}C$ temperature and 90% humidity could be remotely controlled within the cooler for 120 days. Postharvest freshness of Chinese cabbages could be maintained up to 120 days depending on the packaging method and operation of the remote monitoring system. In particular, wrapping the cabbages in PEF with perforations resulted in a less than a 5% deterioration in quality. This study provides evidence for efficient performance of plastic films in minimizing post-harvest deterioration and maintaining overall quality of cabbages stored under precise low-temperature conditions with remote monitoring and a control interface. Conclusions: Packaging with a modified plastic film and storage in a precisely controlled cooler with a remote monitoring and control interface could slow down the physiological factors that cause adverse quality changes and thereby increase the shelf life of Chinese cabbage.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.89-96
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• 2018

This study aims to develop a fully passive smart sensing tag utilizing RF (Radio Frequency) energy harvesting technology at UHF (Ultra High Frequency) band of 915MHz. To optimize the power collected under various radiated conditions, an efficient energy harvesting module exploiting a boost circuit with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is employed. Specifically, the proposed tag features two orthogonal antennas to enhance its capability of both energy scavenging and data transmissions. The experimental result shows that the developed smart sensor tag can scavenge an RF input power of as low as 0.19mW at a distance of 4 meters for a 3.6Vdc output. Furthermore, the proposed smart sensor tag performs the feasibility of completely autonomous monitoring food freshness at 2 meters with a low-power sensor array.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.93-99
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• 2020

A colorimetric paper sensor was used to detect volatile nitrogen-containing compounds emitted from spoiled salmon filets to determine their freshness. The sensing mechanism was based on acid-base reactions between acidic pH-indicating dyes and basic volatile ammonia and amines. A sensing layer was simply fabricated by drop-casting a dye solution of bromocresol green (BCG) on a polyvinylidene fluoride substrate, and its color-change response was enhanced by optimizing the amounts of additive chemicals, such as polyethylene glycol, p-toluene sulfonic acid, and graphene oxide in the dye solution. To avoid the adverse effects of water vapor, both faces of the sensing layer were enclosed by using a polyethylene terephthalate film and a gas-permeable microporous polytetrafluoroethylene sheet, respectively. When exposed to basic gas analytes, the paper-like sensor distinctly exhibited a color change from initially yellow, then to green, and finally to blue due to the deprotonation of BCG via the Brønsted acid-base reaction. The use of ammonia analyte as a test gas confirmed that the sensing performance of the optimized sensor was reversible and excellent (detection time of < 15 min, sensitive naked-eye detection at 0.25 ppm, good selectivity to common volatile organic gases, and good stability against thermal stress). Finally, the coloration intensity of the sensor was quantified as a function of the storage time of the salmon filet at 28℃ to evaluate its usefulness in monitoring of the food freshness with the measurement of the total viable count (TVC) of microorganisms in the food. The TVC value increased from 3.2 × 10⁵ to 3.1 × 10⁹ cfu/g in 28 h and then became stable, whereas the sensor response abruptly changed in the first 8 h and slightly increased thereafter. This result suggests that the colorimetric response could be used as an indicator for evaluating the degree of decay of salmon induced by microorganisms.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.612-616
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the condition of frying oil used for frying chicken nuggets in a deep fryer. The acidification of the frying oils used, soybean oil (SB), canola oil (CA), palm oil (PA), and lard (LA), were determined as peroxide value, acid value, and fatty acid composition, after chicken nuggets were fried in them for 101 times. The acid value and peroxide value obtained were 5.14 mg KOH/g and 66.03 meq/kg in SB, 4.47 mg KOH/g and 71.04 meq/kg in CA, 2.66 mg KOH/g and 15.48 meq/kg in PA, and 5.37 mg KOH/g and 62.92 meq/kg in LA, respectively. The ranges of the major fatty acid contents were palmitic acid, 8.91-45.84%; oleic acid, 34.74-58.68%; linoleic acid, 10.32-18.65%; and stearic acid, 2.28-10.86%.Used frying oils for food except animal products have a legal limit for the freshness standard, set by the Food Codex regulations (AV<2.5, POV<50). Therefore, this study could help develop a freshness standard for frying oils used for animal products such as chicken nuggets. Based on the quality limits associated with food regulations stated, we suggested that the estimated frying times before acceptable freshness was exceeded were 41 for SB, 38 for LA, 53 for CA, and 109 for PA. This data may be useful in determining food quality regulations for frying oil used for animal products.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.2853-2858
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• 2013

This paper proposes the ITMS(Intelligent Transport Monitoring System) which manages the route and state of freight by using the Meteorological Office, the Transportation Management Center, GPS and Sensors, etc. The ITMS consists of the CIMS(Container Inner Monitoring System) transmitting the inner temperature and humidity of a container, the TMM(Transport Management Module) computing an estimated time of arrival with Freight Vehicle location information and transmits the result to the CIMS, the FMM(Freight Management Module) checking and managing the freight freshness by using the temperature and humidity of the collected containers, and the SMM(Stevedoring Management Module) selecting the container loading and unloading places with the information transmitted from the CIMS, the TMM, and the FMM and attaching the freight formation to containers using an RFID label. The ITMS not only checks the freight condition at intervals but also acquires and manages the freight information with RFID labels rapidly and accurately.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.753-758
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• 2020

In this paper, we intend to develop a control system that can apply the developed vertical stirring heater to the facility house and control the other facilities (circulating fan, ventilation fan, window using a switching motor, ceiling, and dehumidification). Through this, it is intended to increase the cultivation efficiency of crops and improve storage environment of crops held by non-heated storage or storage warehouses to increase the storage period and freshness. In addition, ICT monitoring technology is added to enable users to easily solve problems when there is a problem due to changes in the cultivation and storage environment with Real Time Control (RTC).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.70-78
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• 2021

Identifying the extracellular metabolites of microorganisms in fresh vegetables is industrially useful for assessing the quality of processed foods. Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (PCC) is a plant pathogenic bacterium that causes soft rot disease in cabbages. This microbial species in plant tissues can emit specific volatile molecules with odors that are characteristic of the host cell tissues and PCC species. In this study, we used headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) to identify volatile compounds (VCs) in PCC-inoculated cabbage at different storage temperatures. HS-SPME-GC-MS allowed for recognition of extracellular metabolites in PCC-infected cabbages by identifying specific volatile metabolic markers. We identified 4-ethyl-5-methylthiazole and 3-butenyl isothiocyanate as markers of fresh cabbages, whereas 2,3-butanediol and ethyl acetate were identified as markers of soft rot in PCC-infected cabbages. These analytical results demonstrate a suitable approach for establishing non-destructive plant pathogen-diagnosis techniques as alternatives to standard methods, within the framework of developing rapid and efficient analytical techniques for monitoring plant-borne bacterial pathogens. Moreover, our techniques could have promising applications in managing the freshness and quality control of cabbages.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.96-103
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• 2019

In this paper, we propose two-stage multichannel architecture for oyster product management system, called cloud stage and agent stage. There are two communication channels at each stage. In cloud stage, the embedded system in the smart scale communicates with the server through two channels, Ethernet or 3G/LTE mobile communication. In agent stage, PCs and smart phones called agents communicate with the server also through Internet and 3G/LTE mobile communication. Compared with previous system in which the amount of the oyster produced in oyster workplaces could be monitored only at the console of only one oyster main server, developed system makes it possible to monitor the amount of produced oyster at several PCs (or smart phones). In addition to the amount of oysters produced at all oyster workplaces the environment of oyster workplaces such as temperature and humidity can be monitored on agents to judge the freshness. Two-stage architecture with multiple channels makes it possible to monitor the amount of oyster product and environment of the oyster workplace at any place in real time.