International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering (IJSCE)

ISSN: 2231-2307, Volume-8 Issue-3, September 2018

eFresh – a Device to Detect Food Freshness

Naveed Shahzad, Usman Khalid, Atif Iqbal, Meezan-Ur-Rahman

Abstract-The food we consumes provide nourishment and The image processing method is use of computer algorithms
gives energy to our body, it gives us the ability to do daily to perform image processing. In order to check fruit quality
activities and help improves our health in direct as well as Omit et al. used color, shape, and texture to sort tomato
indirect ways. A healthy and fresh diet is the most important way
to keep ourselves fit. The food items kept at room temperature
fruits according to their color (redness), size, shape,
undergo rapid bacterial growth and chemical changes in food. circularity, maturity and defects [3].
Taking unhealthy food leads to bad health, and can cause They achieved 84.4% accuracy by checking different
different food borne diseases. The purpose to use biosensor and samples of tomato fruit. But this method only gives
electrical sensors is to determine the freshness of food. A smart information about outer surface and structure of fruit but
system which can detect the freshness of household food like outer appearance of fruit is not enough to measure freshness
dairy items, meat, and fruits. The identification and selection of
pH sensor, Moisture sensor, and Gas sensor to develop a smart
of fruit as different fruits starts ripening from inside.
food freshness detector ensures the freshness of food and tells An electronic nose term used for sensing food freshness
whether to eat it or bin it. An android application is developed to by checking fruits optical and gaseous properties. Number
select the type of food to be checked. of different sensors have been developed for multi-sensor
arrays [4]. These types of sensors demonstrates physical and
Keywords: Food Freshness; pH Sensor; Moisture Sensor; Gas chemical interactions with the chemical compounds when
Sensor; Arduino Uno
they flow over or are in contact with the sensors .The
biosensors , odor sensors, moisture sensors, and constitutes
I. INTRODUCTION
the piezoelectric crystal sensors.
A device called Food Sniffer is developed to check the
T he food we consume can affect in any form of freshness and quality of meat items like Beef, Chicken, and
contamination that may occur due to storage or chemical Fish [5]. This device is only for meat items there is no
changes within the food. There are several viruses and development done for diary and fruits items.
bacteria that causes food contamination and leads to In gas sensing two types of piezoelectric sensors are used,
numerous food borne diseases, for example Norovirus a the surface acoustic wave (SAW) device and the quartz
very contagious virus caused by contaminated food or water crystal microbalance (BAW). The devices works on change
[1]. About 351,000 people die of food poisoning globally in the mass of the piezoelectric sensor coating, the gas
every year [2]. In a country like Pakistan, majority of people absorption results in a change in the resonant frequency on
struggles on daily basis for food, due to preservation of exposure to a vapor [6].
foods and use of chemicals to artificially increase the time
span of food causes people illness. It is necessary to develop III. METHODOLOGY
a system that can help people to identify the freshness of
The objectives of this device is to make an electronic device
food or quality of food items.Our proposed system may give
integrated with biosensors that can detect food spoilage. The
the good quality (freshness) management in food. It is based
use sensors that can measure different parameters of food
on electrical, and biosensors. Biosensors play a vital role to
like pH, moisture, and ethanol level.The block diagram
detect the bacterial contamination in food sample. Based on
below shows the model of device. The device consists of a
the combination of the sensor outputs quality of the food
microcontroller Arduino Uno, Bluetooth module, electrical
should be detected.
and bio sensor like pH sensor, moisture sensor, and gas
sensor. The food to be checked is attached to the
II. EXISTING TECHNOLOGIES
corresponding sensor and the user can input from Android
The manual method includes checking fruits and food items mobile application, the selection of food item from
by human force i-e by color checking and by smelling but application gives command to Arduino Uno with
food checking are expensive, time consuming, and less communicating through Bluetooth module. The
efficient due to human errors and environmental effects. microcontroller take readings from the sensor and decide
result with a predefined algorithm. The result is in the form
of “Good to use” and “Not good to use” depending upon the
Revised Version Manuscript Received on July 03, 2018.
Er. Naveed Shahzad, Lecturer, Department of Electrical Engineering,
food freshness level. The output is shown on a LCD.
COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Pakistan. E-mail:
[email protected]
Atif Iqbal, Student, Department of Electrical Electronics Engineering,
COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Pakistan. E-mail:
[email protected]
Er. Usman Khalid, Lecturer, Department of Electrical Engineering,
COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Pakistan. E-Mail:
[email protected]
Meezan-Ur-Rahman, Student Department of Electrical Electronics
Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus,
Pakistan. E-mail: [email protected]

Published By:
Retrieval Number: C3146078318/2018©BEIESP Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
1 & Sciences Publication
 eFresh – a Device to Detect Food Freshness

V. DATA AND RESULTS

The graphs shows the increase and decrease in parameters of
food items checked.
A. pH Trend of Milk
The lactose sugar in milk is converted into Lactic Acid by
Lactic bacteria which lowers the pH level of milk, with the
passage of time the Lactic acid level increases and a stage
come when pH level decreases to such a level so that the
Lactic acid provides help in growth of bad bacteria which
causes spoilage of milk. The normal standardized pH of
fresh milk is about 6.5-6.7, it may increase or decrease with
the type of impurity added to it but if a sample of fresh milk
Figure 1: Block Diagram of eFresh is kept at room temperature its pH gradually decreases with
the passage of time, milk is getting sour.
IV. FOOD PARAMETERS
Freshness of food is one of the most important property in
every food items. Following properties are selected for their
respective food item to be checked by different sensors.
A. pH
The potential of hydrogen (pH) is used to specify the acidity
or alkalinity of solution. A solution commonly measured on
a scale of 0 to 14 [7]. Standard pH of diary items such as
milk, and yogurt is very important, as due to the logarithmic
nature of the measurement, even small changes in pH are
significant. The standard pH of milk is about 6.5-6.7 [8]. A
pure fresh milk should be round about this pH value
standard. A change of 0.3 in pH value represents a doubling Figure 2: pH Trend of Milk Samples
of acid concentration [9] .Variations of pH can affect the B. pH Trend of Yogurt
flavor, taste, and shelf-life of dairy products as milk is main
The normal standardized pH of fresh yogurt is about 4.4
ingredient in any kind of dairy food item. pH sensor is best
[13], it may increase or decrease with the type and quantity
choice for dairy items.
of bacteria added to it at time of its production, if a sample
B. Moisture of fresh yogurt is kept at room temperature its pH gradually
Moisture is the small quantity of water within a solid or decreases with the passage of time, yogurt is getting sour.
condensed on a surface of any material. Meat and poultry Figure 3 shows the trend of 5 samples of yogurt and the pH
are composed of naturally occurring water, muscle, tissue, level with the passage of time.
bone, and fats. Everybody eat meat for the muscle. There are
approximately 75% muscle in meat. With the kind of meat
the naturally occurring water contents differs [10]. The
water contents in meat item whether it is chicken or beef
assures the freshness of meat as too much wet or dry meat is
not good to consume. Too much water contents in meat
items changes the pH level as well as chemical composition
of meat which affects the freshness of meat. Moisture sensor
is best for checking the moisture contents present in chicken
and beef.
C. Ethanol
Ethanol is a naturally occurring substance also known as
Alcohol. Ethanol plumes can be used to localize ripe fruit Figure 3: pH Trend of Yogurt Samples
artificially, and low-concentration ethanol within fruit may
C. Moisture Trend of Chicken
act as a feeding stimulant [11]. Fruit ripening is associated
with changes in color, taste, sugar, and ethanol content. The moisture contents in meet items is one of the important
When fruit like banana start ripening its chemical properties property which ensures freshness, [14] if a sample of fresh
changes with production of different gases like ethylene, and piece of chicken is kept at room temperature its moisture
ethanol [12] in small amount, this amount increases with level gradually decreases with the passage of time,
passage of time. A gas sensor is used to detect the
production and concentration of ethanol in banana.

Published By:
Retrieval Number: C3146078318/2018©BEIESP Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
2 & Sciences Publication
 International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering (IJSCE)
ISSN: 2231-2307, Volume-8 Issue-3, September 2018

And chicken pieces will get dry and smelly with production VI. CONCLUSION
of different organisms which causes chemical changes and
Food poisoning has been the source of innumerable
results in spoilage of meat. Figure 4 shows the trend of 5
diseases, to reduce and avoid illness we use biosensors and
samples of chicken and the moisture level with the passage
electrical sensors to determine the freshness of household
of time.
food items like diary, fruits, and meat.
eFresh consists of hardware device and an android mobile
application.
The android application is the main interface and can
perform the following actions:
1. Connect to Bluetooth module.
2. The user can use to select the type of food to be
checked.
3. User can see the results on LCD attached to device.

FUTURE WORK
A. Centralized Server
Figure 4: Moisture Contents in Chicken with Time An embedded system can be installed in it which can send
data back to a centralized server where it can be used for
D. Moisture Trend of Beef different research purposes and user can see history of data.
The moisture in meet is one of the main property which
ensures freshness, if a sample of fresh piece of beef is kept B. Artificial Neural Network
at room temperature its moisture level gradually decreases For further improvement in results, add an Artificial Neural
with the passage of time, and beef will get dry and dry as Network in the server which can read data and send the
moistures contents decreases. Figure 5 shows the trend of 5 results to the terminal devices which can use this data for
samples of Beef and the trend of moisture level with the devising the better results in future about the food spoilage.
passage of time.
C. Increase In Scope Of Project
Right now, we are testing few dairy and fruits items. Our
plans are to expend the device for more items by adding new
sensors and by using existing sensors.

PROJECT LIMITATION
1. The Sensor should be dry and clean before use.
2. Sensor should be physically attached to food otherwise
there will be error in reading.
3. If user select a food and did not attach it to food then
sensor will take reading at open terminal and will give
wrong result.
Figure 5: Moisture Contents in Beef Samples with Time
E. Ethanol Trend In Banana ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The production of alcohol level starts as the banana starts The authors would like to give sincere appreciation to the
ripening with appearance of black spot on banana which Food safety department of KPK, Pakistan, and Engineer
causes softening of fruit. The black spots level increases Naveed Shahzad for his support.
with time and a stage come when the fruit is ripened and
different type to fungal growth starts on its surface. Figure 6 REFERENCE
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Figure 6- Ethanol Level of Banana Samples with Time

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 eFresh – a Device to Detect Food Freshness

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AUTHORS PROFILE
Engineer Naveed Shahzad, Author has degree
of BS in Electronics Engineering from
COMSATS Institute of Information Technology,
Pakistan in 2008 and MS from University of
Bradford, UK, 2010. Lecturer in Electrical
Engineering Department, COMSATS University
Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Pakistan.
Experience as Computer Hardware Engineer,
Power Technologies, Pakistan, and Technical
Design Engineer, 4Mation Systems Ltd, UK.
Awarded for INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS SCHOLARSHIP by The
University of Bradford, UK. Research in robotics, especially the application
of artificial intelligence techniques.
E-Mail: [email protected]

Atif Iqbal, Author is the student of Electrical

Electronics Engineering COMSATS University
Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Pakistan. He
is best known for his rapid-learning engineering
techniques. He has an active interest in
Electronics projects, especially in food related
advancement in Electronics. E-Mail:
[email protected]

Engineer Usman Khalid, Author has degree

of BS and MS in Electrical Engineering.
Lecturer in Electrical Engineering Department,
COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad
Campus, Pakistan. Research interest in
Microprocessors and Controllers.
E-Mail: [email protected]

Meezan-Ur-Rahman , Author is the student of

Electrical Electronics Engineering COMSATS
University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus,
Pakistan. He has an active interest in
Electronics projects. E-Mail:
[email protected]

Published By:
Retrieval Number: C3146078318/2018©BEIESP Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering
4 & Sciences Publication