Theoretical Design of a Variable Activation Energy Time-Temperature Integrator for Prediction of Food or Drug Shelf Life

Successful application of a time/temperature integrator (TTI) requires that it has on activation energy similar deterioration reaction of the food or drug it is to monitor. Based on the 3M Monitor Mark, a new tag was designed, the principal of which is a simultaneous diffusion and chemical reaction process. The combined process could be modelled by a response function f(x) = x2 = Kct*. The overall activation energy could be increased (compared to the simple diffusion process) if the activation energy and half life for the chemical reaction are chosen appropriately. An equation was development to estimate the amount of diffusing substance needed. Theoretically, it is feasible to design a new tag that will have essentially the same activation energy as food or drug quality loss.