“From Microbes to Smart Fridges: How Science Is Transforming Food Freshness and Reducing Waste” by Revathy Gurusamy, PhD Candidate.
February 2, 2026
The 2nd EAB Meeting of the SERENADE project (January 23, 2026) marked a strategic milestone in consolidating our vision: to transform food storage and smart quality monitoring through advanced sensors and next-generation sustainable materials. Held virtually with the active participation of the consortium partners and the EAB, the meeting highlighted the strong technical progress achieved and the project’s high potential impact at both industrial and European levels.
From a management perspective, the approval of the first periodic report was emphasized as a clear recognition of the quality of the work carried out so far. In addition, the consortium initiated the first discussions on the common work of the all-DCs-together stays at BSH and VITO in September and October, reinforcing collaboration, integration, and joint scientific progress across the project. Despite the departure of DC1, the consortium demonstrated resilience and responsiveness: a significant portion of the key experimental work had already been completed, and an effective mitigation plan has been activated to ensure continuity and scientific excellence.
Project overview
- FOOD (WP2): Progress in the modelling of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and in defining freshness thresholds positions SERENADE as a benchmark in the objective prediction of food quality and shelf life. The strategy of focusing on a reduced number of food products will enable even more robust results, directly transferable to real industrial applications. The interest shown by the EAB confirms the relevance of our approach and its strong future exploitation potential.
- SENSORS (WP3): Particularly promising results were presented, with MOS systems and the mini GC-MOS achieving 87.8% accuracy in the classification of meat product edibility—an unmistakable indicator of the technological maturity reached. These advances reinforce SERENADE’s value proposition in delivering intelligent, reliable, and potentially scalable solutions for the market.
- MATERIALS (WP4): The combination of bio-based plastics (PLA) and innovative chemical recycling technologies opens the door to increasing recycling rates up to 85–90%, significantly surpassing current standards. The dialogue with the EAB regarding food-grade certification, scalability, and costs demonstrates that we are not only advancing excellent science, but also developing solutions with clear industrial and commercial projection.
As next steps, it was agreed to convene a Steering Committee and prepare the 3rd EAB meeting, scheduled for June/July 2026.
