News

• PetriTag™ is a patented, biodegradable, paper-based label that enables early visual detection of bacterial contamination directly inside packaging, before the product becomes dangerous or even visibly spoiled.
• It helps operators spot issues earlier, make better release/hold decisions, and reduce avoidable waste without compromising safety – preventing the disposal of safe products while flagging genuinely unsafe ones before they reach consumers.
• The urgency is real: In the EU alone, 59.2 million tons of food were wasted in 2022. Simultaneously, foodborne illness remains a major public health burden, with the WHO estimating 600 million cases and 420,000 deaths annually due to contaminated food.
• Award-winning innovation: PetriTag won the Expo Fish Portugal 2025 Innovation Prize, presented by Docapesca, in recognition of its potential to transform the seafood industry.
• Moving to market: AlmaScience is now advancing PetriTag toward commercialization, building industrial pilots and partnerships across the food chain (producers, processors, packaging players, cold chain, and retail) to tailor the solution to real operational needs.

AlmaScience, a collaborative innovation lab dedicated to partnering with industry to commercialize early-stage sustainable technologies, today announced that its biodegradable food safety sensor, PetriTag®, has been awarded the Expo Fish Portugal 2025 Innovation Prize in the "New Equipment, Solutions, and Digital Services" category.

The Problem: Balancing Safety with Waste

The food industry currently faces a paradox: how to ensure safety without generating massive waste. In the EU alone, 59.2 million tons of food are wasted annually, often due to overly conservative, static expiration dates that force operators to discard safe products. Conversely, foodborne illness remains a critical public health burden, with the WHO estimating 600 million cases globally per year.
Existing monitoring solutions are often expensive, include electronics, or require specialized lab equipment to interpret, leaving a "blind spot" in the supply chain between the factory and the fork.

The Solution: A "Check Engine Light" for Food Freshness

PetriTag is a patented, paper-based smart label that functions like a litmus test for bacterial growth. Unlike traditional labels that only track time or temperature, PetriTag detects actual biological changes. Placed inside the packaging, it absorbs liquid released by the product. If it detects high levels of bacteria, the label changes color, providing an early visual warning up to two days before the product is visibly spoiled or dangerous.

Validated Performance: A 48-Hour Early Warning

Independent lab testing on fish and oysters has confirmed that PetriTag accurately tracks the decline in product quality. The sensor generates a clear visual alert up to two full days before the product becomes unsafe, providing operators with a critical window to manage inventory and prevent waste before spoilage occurs.

Flexible Integration for Any Volume

Designed for seamless adoption, the technology adapts to various points in the supply chain. Whether applied directly inside consumer packaging for unit-level tracking or integrated into bulk transport crates for logistics monitoring, PetriTag scales to meet the specific needs of producers and retailers.

Key Benefits for the Supply Chain:

• Smarter "Release/Hold" Decisions: Logistics operators can identify compromised batches immediately without waiting for lab results.
• Reduced Waste: Retailers can confidently sell products that are still safe, rather than relying solely on estimated expiry dates.
• Consumer Trust: A visual guarantee of safety that protects the brand and the buyer.

From Lab to Market

The Innovation Award was presented by Docapesca at the Ílhavo Maritime Museum during Expo Fish Portugal, a key event convening the entire seafood value chain.

"Winning this award validates that the market is ready for a shift from static dates to active, intelligent monitoring", said Carlos Silva, President and CEO of AlmaScience. "We have successfully proven the technology in small-scale pilot testing with different partners within the Packaging of the Future RRP Mobilizing Agenda. Now, we are focused on the next phase: commercialization. We are actively seeking investors and partners who are as passionate as we are about creating a safer cold chain and reducing food waste. We invite them to join our pilot program and tailor PetriTag to their specific operational needs".

Market Opportunity & Economic Potential

Portugal is a strategic launch market, with a seafood sector valued at approximately €3 billion and per capita fish consumption among the highest in Europe. PetriTag contributes to waste reduction, improved food safety, and the guarantee of international standards for exports, which currently reach €1.25 billion (growing 15% annually).

Globally, the technology is positioned for massive scale. The cold chain market represents €30 billion (projected to reach €60-70 billion by 2030), and the food safety market represents €24 billion (projected to reach €57 billion by 2033), driven by increasingly stringent regulations requiring advanced traceability solutions.

Development within "Packaging of the Future"

PetriTag was developed as part of the Embalagem do Futuro (“Packaging of the Future”) Mobilizing Agenda, a strategic national consortium funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), dedicated to creating intelligent, circular, and digitally integrated packaging.

Call for Pilots

AlmaScience is now accepting inquiries for pilot projects to test PetriTag in real-world environments (seafood, poultry, and meat). Interested parties in the processing, packaging, and retail sectors are encouraged to contact the team for demonstrations.

About AlmaScience

AlmaScience is a collaborative innovation lab (CoLab) and technology incubator for sustainable functional materials and green electronics, located in Caparica and Aveiro.

With a multidisciplinary team of approximately 25 PhDs and Master’s in areas such as chemistry, biology, materials science, paper technology, and electronics, AlmaScience bridges the gap between research and industry. We partner with companies to transform scientific research into commercially viable products, always with a focus on sustainability and the circular economy.

AlmaScience is the central point of the Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem, the result of a collaborative partnership between the CoLab and key players in the Portuguese industrial ecosystem, including Imprensa Nacional – Casa da Moeda, The Navigator Company, Grupo Clara Saúde, Firmo, MEXT: Mota-Engil Next, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, NOVA.ID FCT, Raiz, Fraunhofer Portugal, and the Municipality of Almada.

Technologies developed by AlmaScience include PaperWeight AI (paper sensors for smart retail shelves, AlmaScience's first spin-off), PetriTag (biodegradable sensor for bacterial detection), and GELA (rapid cooling label for beverages).

About Expo Fish Portugal

Organized by Docapesca, Expo Fish Portugal is the premier meeting point for the national seafood sector, bringing together stakeholders to discuss innovation, digitalization, and sustainability in the sea economy.

More information: www.expofishportugal.com

About Packaging of the Future

Packaging of the Future (Project No.: C644931699-00000042, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan), led by VANGEST and involving 79 entities, aims to research, develop, produce, and commercialize globally scalable packaging solutions that are more ecological, digital, and inclusive, contributing to the specialization of the productive profile of companies operating in the packaging sector.

Objectives: 1) Promote the transformation of the specialization profile of the national packaging sector by encouraging higher value-added and knowledge-intensive activities; and 2) Present innovative products, processes, and services to the market that contribute to a more ecological, digital, and inclusive packaging sector.

More information: www.embalagemdofuturo.pt