Functional inks and indicators for Smart Tag based intelligent packaging applications

Smart Tags are functional, information transmitting elements that combine 2D barcodes and environmental sensing into a cost effective tag that can be attached to e.g. product packages, where additional elements should not increase the product costs significantly. Important feature of these Smart Tags is that they can be attached to products in very high-speed production lines, which makes them suitable to fast moving consumer goods. Because the Smart Tags are sensitive to environmental conditions, they are dynamic, but they also enable context aware services as each of them can be unique. The enabling technologies behind these Smart Tags are i) 2D barcodes and ii) functional inks, such as thermochromic and photochromic inks, and iii) printed visual indicators. In this paper, different ink and indicator technologies are used to build Smart Tags. Both commercial inks and developmental grades are in focus. Furthermore, it is evaluated if these tags can be detected by mobile phone reader

Understanding consumer perspectives of bio-based products:A comparative case study from Ireland and The Netherlands

The bioeconomy can support Europe’s transition to a low‐carbon economy and help to meet key international, European and member state sustainability targets through the provision of bio‐based products and energy derived from sustainably sourced biomass. A successful implemen‐ tation of a bio‐based economy in Europe will, however, require a profound transformation of our production and consumption patterns. Consumer behavior will play a major role in supporting the successful transition to a bio‐based economy. This paper uses a structured quantitative survey ap‐ proach to gain an understanding of consumer perspectives in relation to bio‐based products. Con‐ ducted among 18–75‐year‐old consumers in Ireland and the Netherlands, the study indicates that consumers in both countries have a relatively positive outlook regarding bio‐based products, with Irish consumers showing a slightly more positive outlook. The study finds that a larger majority of Irish consumers would prefer buying bio‐based products as opposed to fossil‐based products, while Irish consumers also have a slightly more positive impression than Dutch consumers that their con‐ sumer choices can be beneficial for the environment

Development and Consumer Perception of a Snack Machine Producing Customized Spoonable and Drinkable Products Enriched in Dietary Fiber and Protein

The aim of the study was to evaluate consumer perceptions toward customized snacks produced with a Healthy Snack Machine (HSM) prototype, at-site of the purchase and consumption. The present study had a multi-disciplinary approach including both snack product and HSM development (hardware and user interface). Snack development included both instrumental (viscosity, colloidal stability) and sensory characterization (by trained sensory (N = 10) and consumer (N = 55) panels) of spoonable and drinkable, oat- and dairy-based snack products, fortified with protein and/or dietary fiber. The protein and fiber addition reduced viscosity in spoonable products but did not affect the consistency of drinkable samples. Oat-based samples differed from dairy-based in multiple attributes in sensory profiling. In consumer sample testing, sample odor and taste were the most and least preferred aspects, respectively. In the snack machine testing, a qualitative consumer study (N = 33) showed that the HSM was easy to use, the user interface was clear, the ordering process was quick, and the participants were interested in using the HSM in the future. The snack choices (spoonable/drinkable and dairy/oat base) made by the consumers were distributed equally, but the berry-flavor was preferred over cocoa and vanilla. The most common HSM usage scenarios were “between work/school and hobbies” and “in transit from one place to another”

Parental and professional agency in terminations for fetal anomalies: analysis of Finnish women's accounts

This study explores the construction of parental and professional agency in the written accounts by women who have undergone selective abortion (N=8). The analysis of the data was based on qualitative, linguistic discourse analysis. The accounts indicate that the mothers themselves exhibited both strong and weak agency during the process of prenatal diagnosis. The role of the professionals was usually discussed in these accounts concerning only the phases of pregnancy when something out of ordinary had been detected. After the termination, the mothers expressed that they were forced to exhibit strong agency and find ways to cope with their distress unaided due to a lack of professional support. The findings provide new viewpoints for discussing the realization of parental autonomy in prenatal counseling as well as knowledge about the various emotional reactions which prenatal diagnosis and selective abortions evoke