Developing Edible Barcodes from Hydrogels

Abstract

Counterfeiting of food and pharmaceutical products, albeit a more serious issue in developing countries is, however, omnipresent. Therefore, there is an ever-growing need for anticounterfeiting measures to address this challenge. Currently, the existing overt and covert anticounterfeiting measures are more prevalent on the packaging of such products. While such measures are helpful to a certain extent, they are however, easier to by-pass with re-used authentic packaging, fake barcodes and duplicate product numbering. Furthermore, advanced research and new innovations have indicated that it is also possible to have additional levels of security by incorporating similar measures into or on the product itself. Although these novel anticounterfeiting measures offer a unique opportunity to safeguard the customer’s interest at best, they present certain challenges. Some of these include bio-compatibility of the materials and the need for them to be in compliance with regulatory organizations. However, overcoming these challenges confronts the issue directly. In this work, the approach is to develop a proof of concept of entirely edible barcodes from naturally available and/or food grade materials such as sodium alginate. This study also focusses on the influence of drying on the macroscopic structure of such barcodes. The bar-codes are produced by physically cross-linking the polymer in specific moulds, converting them into a hydrogel barcode in itself. Altogether, this work provides a qualitative under-standing that such a concept can be developed and that the significant structural changes upon drying is not exclusively governed by the concentration of sodium alginate.