mimica touch is a label that tells you the real date your food will expire

mimica touch is a cap or label that helps consumers keep their food better and know when food truly spoils to reduce food waste. developed by london-based industrial designer, solveiga pakštaitė, the project aims to combat one of our biggest’s problems: food waste. just to give you a general image, in the UK alone, 60% of food that is thrown away is still edible, even if the label states the contrary.

images by mimica touch

to date, expiry dates are estimates of what the worst case temperature scenario will be for the product, in order to make sure we are all safe. the idea is good, however, most of us will store food in much better conditions than the worst case scenario and this is when good food, and money, get wasted. to help get a better reading of your food status, mimica touch responds to temperature changes thanks to a gel filling that goes from smooth to bumpy at the same pace as the food inside spoils. when the label feels smooth, the food is still fresh. as soon as the label feels bumpy, the food is spoiled.

by using mimica touch, users will be able to use their food for longer periods of time, hence reducing food waste. currently, the label can be used for juices, dairy and red meat. currently, the multidisciplinary team is working towards launching the labels imminently, so keep your eyes on the supermarket shelves.

‘mimica’s mission is to radically reduce scarcity and unnecessary waste by becoming the new standard for freshness information for industry, consumers and communities all around the world,’ concludes the company.

project info:

name: mimica touch

designer: solveiga pakštaitė