One application Sotzing has been working on is meat packaging with a built-in tongue that can taste the first signs of spoilage and activate a color change as a warning.

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The details of the project for a "major UK retailer" are confidential but the packaging, he says, helps reduce the amount of meat waste that people generate.

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Earlier this month, Britain's National Beef Association called for more specific labeling of meat products and asked that the words "United Kingdom origin" be printed on packaging.

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