Metal-polyphenol Multistage Competitive Coordination System for Colorimetric Monitoring Meat Freshness

A low-cost, high-precision, and secure real-time system for monitoring food freshness can significantly improve spoilage issues, yet traditional colorimetric sensor arrays often suffer from chemical dyes’ high toxicity and limited color changes. Here, a metal-polyphenol network colorimetric sensor array (MPN-CSA) is built for detecting total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) markers of meat freshness. The multi-level competitive coordination process between the metal-polyphenol system and amine substances endows the system with color changes far beyond those of traditional dyes (reaching a detection limit of 300 ppb). By integrating convolutional neural network (CNN) technology, an online platform is developed for monitoring meat freshness, achieving an overall detection accuracy rate of 99.83%. This environmentally friendly, economically viable MPN-CSA that monitors the freshness of meat in complex storage environments can be incorporated into food packaging boxes, enabling consumers and suppliers to assess the freshness of meat in real-time, thus helping to reduce food waste and prevent foodborne illnesses.