METHOD FOR DETECTING MISHANDLING AND MISUSE OF FOOD PRODUCTS

Abstract

Provided is a method for marking a product for human or animal use with an XRF identifiable mark, the method including forming on at least a region of the product a pattern of at least one FDA-grade material identifiable by XRF, the pattern being optionally at least partially invisible to the naked human eye and having a predefined identifiable characteristic, wherein the product is selected from food products, therapeutics and cosmetics.

Claims

1. A method for marking a product for human or animal use with an XRF identifiable mark, the method comprising forming on at least a region of the product a pattern of at least one FDA-grade material identifiable by XRF, the pattern being optionally at least partially invisible to the naked human eye and having a predefined identifiable characteristic, wherein the product is selected from food products, therapeutics and cosmetics.

2. A method of authenticating a product for human or animal use, the method comprising forming at least one XRF identifiable mark on the product prior to commercialization, reading and storing for reference at least one XRF identifiable characteristic of said mark, and reading said mark at any point in time following commercialization of the product to identify the mark and determine whether the at least one XRF identifiable characteristic has undergo a change, wherein the product is selected from food products, therapeutics and cosmetics.

3. A method for marking a product selected from food products, therapeutics and cosmetics with an XRF pattern, the method comprising forming on at least a region of the product a pattern of at least one FDA-grade material identifiable by XRF, the pattern having a first characteristic being responsive to an external stimulus by transitioning from the first characteristic to a second characteristic, said transition being identifiable by XRF and indicative of exposure to said external stimulus.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the product is a food product.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the FDA-grade material is at least one GRAS material.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the material comprises at least one metal ion.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the metal ion is selected from Cu, K, Zn, Ca, Co, Fe, Mg, Na and Li.

8. An ink formulation comprising at least one FDA-grade material and at least one carrier, the at least one FDA-grade material being identifiable by XRF.

9. The ink formulation according to claim 8, for application onto at least one food product.

10. A method for determining mishandling of a product, the method comprising: forming an XRF-identifiable pattern on the product, said pattern having a first characteristic responsive to an external stimulus; irradiating said product with said X-Ray or Gamma-Ray radiation; detecting an X-Ray signal arriving from the product in response to the X-Ray or Gamma-Ray radiation applied to the product; applying spectral processing to the detected X-Ray signal to obtain data indicative of the presence, absence or any change in the first characteristic.

11. A method for marking an egg for human use with an XRF identifiable mark, the method comprising forming on at least a region of the egg a pattern of at least one FDA-grade material identifiable by XRF, the pattern being optionally at least partially invisible to the naked human eye and having a predefined identifiable characteristic.

12. A method of authenticating an egg for human use, the method comprising forming at least one XRF identifiable mark on the egg prior to commercialization, reading and storing for reference at least one XRF identifiable characteristic of said mark, and reading said mark at any point in time following commercialization of the egg to identify the mark and determine whether the at least one XRF identifiable characteristic has undergo a change.

13. A method for marking an egg with an XRF pattern, the method comprising forming on at least a region of the egg a pattern of at least one FDA-grade material identifiable by XRF, the pattern having a first characteristic being responsive to an external stimulus by transitioning from the first characteristic to a second characteristic, said transition being identifiable by XRF and indicative of exposure to said external stimulus.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the mark is formed from a solution comprising between 1 and 30% of a metal selected from Cu, Co, Fe and Mn.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the metal is presented as a complex or a metal ion.

16. A method of authenticating a meat product for human use, the method comprising forming at least one XRF identifiable mark on the product prior to commercialization, reading and storing for reference at least one XRF identifiable characteristic of said mark, and reading said mark at any point in time following commercialization of the product to identify the mark and determine whether the at least one XRF identifiable characteristic has undergo a change.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the mark is formed from an aqueous solution comprising 10%-20% soy protein and a marker, being optionally zinc chloride.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the marker is present at a concentration of 1%.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the mark is placed on the meat product prior to freezing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Example 1: Marking Meat Products

[0079] For the purpose of marking meat, a solution comprising 10%-20% soy protein (in flour form) is dissolved in water as a binder for binding zinc-chloride, the marker, to the meat. The marker is added to the solution in a concentration of 1%.

[0080] The solution is applied to fresh meat before freezing by stamping using a rubber stamp. The solution binds to the surface of the meat tissue. The meat then undergoes freezing and the solution remains as is on the surface of the meat while frozen. The concentration of the zinc and/or the chloride components of the marker can be read by X-ray Fluorescence analysis. Once the meat is de-frosted the solution becomes diluted, the zinc-chloride marker travels to previously un-marked areas in vicinity to the marked area. Consequently, the concentration of the zinc and/or the chloride in the mark increases in those areas and reduces in the originally marked area. These changes in concentrations of one or both marker components can be read by XRF analysis.

[0081] Alternative markers which can be used in the same soy-protein solution is zinc-citrate.

Example 2: Additional Solution that can be Used for Marking Meat

[0082] The markers used in the previous example, i.e., zinc-chloride and zinc-citrate may alternatively be added to High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) (a sweetener made from corn starch). The solution contains about 1% of the marker dissolved in the HFCS.

Example 3: A Solution for Detecting Temperature Changes in Deep-Frozen Food Products

[0083] A solution of Propylene glycol (E1520) in water, in concentrations in the range of 10% to 60% are used. Propylene glycol is used as an anti-freeze agent. The melting/freezing temperature of the solution is set according to the concentration of the Propylene glycol as shown in Table 2 below:

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Concentration of Melting propylene-glycol Temperature [%] [° C.] 0 0 10 −3 20 −7 30 −12 36 −18 40 −20 43 −23 48 −29 52 −34 55 −40 60 −51

[0084] For example, a solution comprising 36% propylene-glycol and 1% zinc-chloride (or alternatively zinc-citrate) in water can be used to mark a meat product that is to be transported at a temperature of −18° C. The mark is applied to the meat while fresh by various means, e.g., rubber stamp, and is then frozen at −18° C. The concentration of the marker on the stamped area and in the vicinity of the stamped area is then read and stored for reference. In case the temperature of the meat rises above −18° C., e.g., under improper transportation conditions, the solution will undergo phase transition to a liquid. In liquid form the solution will travel at least to the vicinity of the originally marked area, reducing the concentration of the marker in the originally marked area and increasing concentration in the vicinity of that area. These changes in the concentrations of the marker are measurable by XRF analysis. By adjusting the concentration of the propylene-glycol in the solution one can adjust the melting temperature of the solution. Therefore, using this method one can detect whether the temperature during storing or transportation deviated from a preselected temperature.

[0085] To the above solutions food coloring such as (E102 and E103) can be added in concentration of about 10% to make the marking visible.

Example 4: Marking Eggs

[0086] For the purpose of marking eggs one or more of the compounds of Table 1, in concentrations of 1%-30%, may be added to mixtures of water and alcohol or to commonly used water based or alcohol based egg-inks (usually comprising a mixture of water, alcohol and organic pigments). For example, a solution of up to 10% Copper complexes chlorophylls (E141) which is used as a green food coloring can be added water and alcohol mixture or to egg inks comprising water, alcohol and organic pigment. The solution can be printed on the egg shell in commonly used egg-printing devices, egg-stamping machines or by manual printing. The markers (Copper complexes chlorophylls) can be detected using XRF analysis and therefore may be used for example for authenticating the origin of the egg. By mixing the marker (E 141) in a plurality of concentration and/or by adding additional compounds of Table 1 to the water/alcohol mixture a code can be introduced into the solution which can indicate, for example, the date of production of the egg, as well as additional information.