Vitsab International has developed its Freshtag Flight Label to change colour based on temperature exposure and tackle food waste in perishable airline meals.
The label is designed to be versatile and function in frozen, refrigerated, or passive galley storage environments and streamline transport, storage, and on-board serving – all without requiring tools or technical setup.
Cumulative temperature tracking is set to monitor the packaging from the preparation kitchen through every stage of the flight. The label uses ‘stoplight’ colour-change technology to signal a product’s integrity: green for safe conditions, yellow for moderate, and red after exposure to unsuitable temperatures.
This is anticipated to minimize food loss and secure passenger trust in the quality and safety of perishable foods served on board.
Staff can gauge product safety at a glance, regardless of language and location. They can also transfer sealed and unused perishables to a later flight or donate them to charity, which is expected to reduce carbon footprint.
Furthermore, this approach is hoped to help airlines conserve fuel by reducing onboard weight, with ambient galley stowage replacing heavy chilling equipment; and to protect profit margins as the costs of packaging and catering ingredients fluctuate.
The Freshtag Flight Label is designed to be cost-effective and easy to integrate into airline Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) and Quality Management Systems (QMS).
Reportedly, the label complies with the World Food Safety Guidelines for Airline Catering (step 25, CCP2) standards. It also aligns with FDA, HACCP, Codex Alimentarius, and ISO9001 standards, as well as EU regulation 852/2004.
According to Vitsab, current airline catering customers – including prep-kitchen chefs, catering staff, flight attendants, and onboard crew – credit the label’s ease of use and clear messaging.
In a similar development, Hellmann’s and Ogilvy designed a smart mayonnaise jar that reveals a hidden message in thermochromic ink past a particular temperature; this is intended to help consumers store the product at the optimal temperature to keep it fresher for longer and avoid food waste.
Cadbury also created a cold-activated wrapper for its limited-edition Dairy Milk Summer Edition range. Playfully referencing the debate over whether chocolate should be stored in the fridge, the wrapper encourages consumers to chill the bar to reveal summer-themed illustrations.
Lufthansa Group previously collaborated with WasteAid to divert airline waste away from landfill. With Lufthansa Group flights thought to generate roughly 15,000 kilograms of recyclable waste at Mumbai Airport annually, the partners sought to keep in-flight items in a circular economy and preserve finite resources for as long as possible.
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