It also celebrates new moves in packaging and manufacturing so that we can all enjoy the health benefits brought about by higher standards of production, or certainly avoid the negative repercussions that a food scare can bring about.
I wonder how often you’ve burned your lips on a cup of takeaway coffee. Quite a few of us, I think, and with burns being one of the most common reported accidents, it would be fantastic if there was a way of preventing some of these, particularly with the growing numbers of elderly people across the western world.
US company Chromatic Technologies of Colorado Springs has just announced a remarkable innovation. It has developed a plastic material that changes colour depending on heat. The new Smart Lid turns bright red when the drink is hotter than 48 degrees C (118 degrees Fahrenheit). As the beverage cools, the lid returns to a dark brown colour.
The designer, manufacturer and international distributor of the cup lid – Smart Lid Systems – is actually based in New South Wales, Australia.
“The Smart Lid is currently being sold to cafes in Australia,” said Anthony Bayss, director of Smart Lid Systems. “It is direct-food-contact-compliant in the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The number one question we receive every day comes from North America and from Europe, asking when the Smart Lid will be available in your home, in your office or for use around your elderly parents.”
The foodservice industry innovator Smart Lid Systems has initiated this mid-January launch via a crowdfunding effort in connection with the Indiegogo Project.
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“In the US alone, there are 180 million daily coffee drinkers and 170 million daily tea drinkers,” said Bayss. “These consumers now have a visual warning indicator to aid in the prevention of many scald accidents. The end-game for us is to have the product available to all consumers through the major retailers.”
This is a global safety initiative that deserves promotion. It may be too new to be on the agenda for discussion at this year’s Global Safety Conference, but I guess that this technology will be available more widely very soon. Good ideas travel fast.
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