Next Scottish Entrepreneur teams up with Heriot-Watt University

Heriot-Watt University has teamed up with the winner of the title 'Next Scottish Entrepreneur' and £50,000 for the invention of smart food labels that can detect when food has expired.

Pete Higgins, founder and CEO of UWI Technology, won the Barclays 2011 ‘Take One Small Step’ business competition and will be investing the cash prize in his idea: the UWI label, meaning "use within". Mr Higgins hopes that the label will become a standardised product in every home across the world.

Mr Higgins told The Journal: “My initial aim was to help to reduce the amount of food wasted each year, save people money and minimise the risk of illness but I am now keen to investigate how it can be used for other products such as blood transfusion bags, veterinary and pharmaceutical products, industrial glues and sealants and even cosmetics – in fact, anything with a critical shelf life once it has been opened.”

Helped by Dr Will Shu, an academic and lecturer at the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, the label is scientifically programmed to tell a person if food has gone off through the use of green indicators placed on the side of the jar. At the point of purchase all four indicators are green, but when the last indicator has turned red the contents of the jar are no longer edible. The labels will be applied to jars before they are sold and only activated once a jar has been opened.

In the UK alone, £11bn worth of food is wasted every year, with an average family binning £680 worth of food because they are unsure of its shelf-life once opened. Mr Higgins was said to be “thrilled” at winning the competition, but that he could not have done it without the help of Dr Shu, who has worked with him over the past 18 months to bring UWI into the final stages of its three year production.

Dr Shu said: “I am delighted to have been involved in what has been a highly exciting journey and look forward to continuing to work with Pete to develop the device further for use in other products and move into other business sectors. The results have exceeded our expectations."  

Mr Higgins’ UWI invention won the Scottish award in the competition hosted by Barclays and is one of nine regional winners across the UK.