Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Good Health & Well-being (SDG 3)
Sensor technology towards combating food insecurity
Muhammad Ameerullah Sahudin, * Khairun Nasriah Azmi, Thong Kar Kit Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia E-mail: ameerullah@um.edu.my Malnutrition among children, particularly the type that arises due to food insecurity, is escalating at an alarming rate, despite the availability of sufficient food stocks that could be salvaged from edible food waste. This problem is projected to worsen further as the ongoing pandemic continues to exert additional pressure on food security systems. Improving child nutritional status, particularly in food- insecure households is important for today’s children and the adults they will become. Food rescue serves as a primary strategy to tackle food waste and food insecurity simultaneously. Among the innovative tools designed for food monitoring, sensor technology presents high integrability and adaptability. However, its application to address time-sensitive food rescue opportunities is underexplored. This work focused on the development of impedimetric sensor for food quality detection. It was developed by immobilizing fluoro-substituted hydroxyl functionalized zinc(II) Schiff base complex on the titanium dioxide nanoparticles-coated fluorine-doped tin oxide (nano-TiO2/FTO) electrode for selective determination of histamine. The impedimetric sensor showed a limit of detection (LOD) at 4.6 × 10-8 M histamine with a reproducible working linear range between 1.0 × 10-7 M and 1.0 × 10-2 M (R²=0.9894). The sensor displayed high selectivity towards histamine over other biogenic amines occurring in foods as well as reusable and regenerable. Impedimetric detection of histamine in salmon fillet at the Schiff base complex electrode has been verified with HPLC analysis. This strategy holds significant promise for application in the food quality assurance sector, as it offers the potential to prevent nearly expired food from being discarded, which would otherwise have negative repercussions on both the economy and the environment. The food recovered through this approach can be redirected to food banks, where it will undergo further processing to ensure its safety and quality before being distributed to households identified as food-insecure, thereby providing a sustainable solution to address both food waste and food scarcity. Key words: Sensors; Metal Complex; Electrochemistry; Biogenic Amines; Food Insecurity References 1. Sahudin, M. A., Ling, L. T., Mohd, S. S., Nurul, H. A. K. & Mukram, M. M. 2021. Regenerable and Selective Histamine Impedimetric Sensor Based on Hydroxyl Functionalised Schiff Base Complex Electrode. —Electrochimica Acta,379: 138186.
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