the project
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the project |
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Modern packaging materialsensure a long shelf life stability of foodstuffs and protect them from environmental influences. As potential risks microorgansims, light, humidity, oxygen and pollutants can have negative effects on foodstuffs. Various components are used in modern wrapping materials to fulfill these demands. But the packaging material itself can have negative effects on foodstuff. It can release solvents and various off-odour components. There are certain sources of these undesireable substances, such as solvents from inks, overlacquers, adhesives and varnishes. Food Safety Regulatory Confirmity have to be fulfilled in order to protect the consumer. Not only for regulatory reasons, but to satisfy the consumer as well, there is a need to monitor off-odours and residual solvents during the production of packaging materials at an early stage. The projectentitled "Electronic Sensor System for the Characterisation of Packaging Emissions" is funded under the Fifth Framework Programme of the European Commission, Thematic programme Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources, key action Food, Nutrition and Health. Six partners from four countries cooperate in this project (QLK1-2001-02194), which is running from September 2001 to August 2004. The objectives of the ESCAPE project are: This novel approach has a direct industrial interest since the real-life tests can only be performed at the production sites. ESCAPE assures a quick transformation of the obtained prototypes into the manufacturing process. Moreover, classical and time-consuming quality evaluation methods like human sensory panels or analytical investigations by means of Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry can be reduced to a minimum. 
The projectconsists of an industry-dominated consortium of 6 partners with complementary expertise in different fields:
The technical work is organised in 7 work packages:
The EQCS (ESCAPE Quality Control System)
will give the European packaging industry a rapid monitoring tool. The ultimate goal is to establish an at-line test which will replace spot checks. Thus, the processes in the food chain can be controlled at an early stage to save time, manpower and resources. The EQCS system developed so far can also be equipped with a packed column (or even no column) for realising different options (performance and price wise). The system is actually under test and a first sketch is shown here. Using the packed column as a separation unit leads to a very encouraging correlation between reference measurements using a FID (Flame Ionisation Detector) and the output of the chemical sensor system (consists of 4 micro-machined metal oxide semiconductor sensors). 
Based on these results, a low cost instrument consisting of very few sensors for a quick go/no go analysis on a factory floor for an unskilled operator will be built. A simple system with different options (with or without separation) will do the job as go/no go device by accepting all the samples in the green region, rejecting those in the red one and giving a borderline alert for the yellow region. The EQCS approach won´t replace neither the human test panel (spot test on a daily/weekly basis) nor the analytical tests using heavy instrumental analysis (in case of complains or doubts). It is much more understood as a support for the manufacturers and users of packaging material for the production control and incoming goods inspection and placed on the factory floor. It doesn´t have to be as precise as the instrumental analysis systems but should give a warning (and initiate subsequent actions, like a detailed analysis). Achieved specificationsof the ESCAPE project are: 
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