Color-changing ink to check HPP packaging

Ink turns blue when packages reach the proper pressure.

Photo courtesy of Chromatic Technologies Inc.

A specialty ink company is offering a new version of its color-changing technology to detect individual packages that failed during high pressure processing.

Chromatic Technologies Inc. says the inability to inspect single packages was a gap in the increasingly popular processing technique. Using an ink that changes color for proper pressure lets companies avoid eliminating an entire run of prepared foods, CTI says.

Its second-generation BlindSpotz can differentiate among packages processed at 70K, 80K and 87K psi. The technology also identifies short cycles.

A clear message turns blue when the proper target is reached. A worker can check the color against a reference color; if the ink is lighter than the standard, the package failed in processing. For automated operations, a vision system can measure the color.

There are three ways to use the technology:

Place a validation badge in every basket of packages
Apply stickers to individual packages
Print right on the package with an existing printing process

HydroFresh, an HPP toller from Delphos, Ohio, was an early tester and offers customers the basket badges.

For more information, visit www.ctiinks.com

Rose Shilling is a previous managing editor of Food Engineering Magazine. She wrote feature stories on a variety of topics and tracked the food packaging industry. A journalist with an editing background at news services and newspapers, she also has driven editorial projects in health care and higher education.