Flexible sensing enabled agri-food cold chain quality control: A review of mechanism analysis, emerging applications, and system integration

Traditional silicon-based sensors provide a viable solution for packaging, detection, and quality control of agri-food in the cold chain. However, the limitations such as large size, heavy mass, non-bendability, and complex preparation process hinder the deep integration with agri-food quality control. This review article primarily focuses on the utilization of emerging flexible sensing technology instead of rigid sensors for high-precision sensing, multi-scale monitoring, and nondestructive detection of agri-food quality. It also comprehensively summarizes and analyzes the combination of flexible technology and agri-food quality control, which provides a clear framework for the application of flexible sensing technology in agri-food cold chain quality control. From the supply chain-quality evolution mechanism-sensing requirement dimension, the interaction mechanisms between critical quality parameters and agri-food quality are explored firstly. Then the performance requirements of flexible sensors in various food cold chain application scenarios are analyzed in detail. Finally, the emerging applications of flexible sensors in the field of agri-food quality control are discussed. Intelligent devices integrated with flexible sensors and machine learning algorithms are also highlighted, thereby improving the quality control efficiency of agri-food. The extension and application of flexible sensors not only allow for precise and accurate sensing of key environmental parameter changes, but also provide promising solutions for a range of key issues such as more accurate agri-food processing, grading, and inspection. Existing flexible sensors with single parameter sensing are developing towards multimodal sensing, and the development of emerging manufacturing technologies, novel device structures, emerging materials, and intelligent algorithms are expected to greatly enhance the efficiency of cold chain quality control of agri-food.