Have you ever encountered a situation where you can’t decide whether a food product is past its expiry date or not? We know that the Expiry Dates labeled on food packaging are important factors in determining whether the product is fresh or spoilt. But logically, this does not help. Labels on food packaging are just an estimated number mandated by the government to be on the safer side. Companies too just put in an average number after stability tests on a few batches in varying temperature conditions.
Although the expiry and manufacturing dates are quite important for consumers to be aware of the use and safe consumption of food products – especially perishable items, they are honestly just a rough estimation of the food product’s quality and safety. Prioritizing your family’s health and safety as well as driving initiatives in sustainable food preservation is very important. But when you’re mindful of the shelf life of the products that need storing for a while, you can extend the use of the food product even after the labeled expiry date.
For example, when we buy dairy products like milk, the shelf life of the product can vary anywhere around 7 days, depending on the packaging and pasteurization processes. But, what if we properly refrigerate the milk in appropriate packaging and in the right temperature condition, the milk can be stored for a few more days. This would still be safe and of good quality even though it’s now past its expiry date. Due to this guess rule game of expiry date estimations and the lack of reliable methods like food expiry indicators that can help determine when a food product is no longer safe for consumption, statistics say that the food waste produced amounts to over 10% of the world’s greenhouse gases every year. In Europe, a staggering 83% of food that is wasted, disposed or discarded is still fresh and safe for consumption, but due to the labeled expiry dates on the packaging, people naturally choose to stay on the safer side.
Therefore in this article, we will cover the interesting insights of a European company located in London, England – Mimica, founded by Solveiga Pakštaite, who specializes in smart packaging and wanted to “radically reduce unnecessary food waste”. Mimica manufactures a patented product label called Bump, that provides real-time indication of when a food product is still good and safe for consumption or when a food product has gone bad and is time to be disposed of. Used in juices, seafood, and poultry packages, Bump by Mimica is driving sustainable food preservations for better futures.
About the Founder and Director of MIMICA:
The Founder and Director of Mimica is Solveiga Pakštaite. She was the brains behind the idea of manufacturing a product called Bump in the year 2017, which provides real-time temperature-sensitive indications of when a food product has really expired or is still safe for consumption.
Solveiga Pakštaite has received an education in the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Industrial Design and Technology from Brunel University London (a public research university located in Uxbridge, England). The founder of Mimica worked in several roles after her graduation, such as – a Graphic Designer and Researcher at Mima (a CCD Design and Ergonomics Limited company), a Trends Researcher at Canvas8, a guest Lecturer at Brunel University London (where she is an alumnus), a User Experience Consultant at UX Connections, a Director at Design By Sol, a Consultant at Kantar Consulting, a Founding Board Member at Fast Foward 2030, an Honorary Lecturer at UCL, and lastly the Founder and Director at Mimica, London, UK. This was the beginning of Solveiga Pakštaite’s journey with Bump by Mimica, which has gained recognition for efforts in the sustainable preservation of food products by many food companies.
The Concept Behind BUMP by MIMICA:
“The next generation of food expiry labeling” – Bump by Mimica is on a mission to improve the quality and safety of food products and help reduce the huge amounts of food wastage that occurs due to expiry date labels. The idea behind Bump by Mimica was industrialized in the year 2017, in London, England, UK, as a patented product that can be used by the Food Industry to provide real-time temperature-sensitive indications of the quality of food products, especially perishable items.
Mission Statement – “To Radically reduce unnecessary food waste.”
For her Degree project, Solveiga came up with the idea behind Bump. She wanted to create a reliable method and design a product initially for visually impaired people. But soon realized that the contributional factors behind increasing food waste were because of the estimated expiry date labels on the packaging of food products. As this product in sustainable packaging materials invented by Solveiga was gaining rapid recognition by supermarkets and food companies, the founder roped in a team of experts and professionals in the industry – Laurence Kayson and Lawrie Matthews, to industrialize the idea and make Bump a patented product under Mimica. Therefore this is how Bump by Mimica came to be manufactured in the Packaging and Containers Manufacturing Industry in London, UK.
Designed and manufactured specially to support the packaging of Beverages, Dairy, Meat, and Seafood – Mimica aims to become the “globally recognized mark of freshness for industries, consumers, and communities”, the patented product manufactured by Mimica won the James Dyson Award in its efforts in shelf-life extension, helped the startup company acquire grant funding from the European Union (EU), the UK Government, as well as from the Mayor of London. Mimica is looking forward to expanding its designs to become compatible with the packaging of Vaccines and Organ Transportation in the future as well.