Gas Sensors Developed to Detect Toxic VOCs in Modern Cooking Equipment

SCIENION AG has announced its first steps into direct marketing of consumer products. Scienion, with four other partners, are developing technology for inexpensive sensing of toxic compounds in the gas phases of airfryers and other frying systems to enable healthy cooking.

This project entitled COLODOR “Integrated-optical detection of volatile organic compounds using functional polymer coatings” is funded by M-ERA-NET. Cooperation partners include AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Vienna, Austria, Fraunhofer Research Institution for Microsystems and Solid State Technologies EMFT, Regensburg, Germany, SCIENION AG, Berlin, Germany, ams AG, Unterpremstaetten, Austria, and Philips Austria GmbH, Klagenfurt, Austria.

Quantitative analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOC) is important for a great variety of applications in consumer health and environment protection. It plays a crucial role in the food industry as frying may cause the release of toxic degradation products. For toxic VOC detection, COLODOR utilizes optical multi-parameter gas sensors. The project objective is the detection of VOCs during hot air cooking as used in modern air fryer cooking equipment. Real-time detection of VOCs will allow optimizing the cooking process to avoid toxic products and at the same time reducing the fat content of the food. Thus, the project will contribute to healthier food preparation and improved consumer well-being.

“Integrating the expertise of two renowned research institutions and three leading industry players – all of them specialists in different fields – offer the best conditions to make this project successful”, says Holger Eickhoff, CEO of SCIENION AG. “It allows for cross innovation at its best. We are really excited to enter a new territory and to take part in this ambitious project.”