The development comes against the backdrop of recurring scandals involving fake baby formula. (Image courtesy of Pexels/CCL)
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Korea Bizwire) –Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed smartphone-based technology to detect counterfeit baby formula, potentially offering a simple solution to a problem that has plagued consumers for years.
The research team, led by professor Han Jun from KAIST’s School of Computing, collaborated with Yonsei University, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), and the National University of Singapore to create the system, which they’ve named PowDew.
The development comes against the backdrop of recurring scandals involving fake baby formula. In 2008, melamine-tainted formula in China led to the deaths of at least six infants and affected 300,000 others.
The chemical was added to artificially inflate protein content readings. More recently, in 2020, reports emerged of infants developing abnormally enlarged skulls after consuming counterfeit formula.
Despite these ongoing concerns, real-time verification of baby formula authenticity has remained elusive until now.
PowDew utilizes a smartphone’s built-in camera to detect counterfeit powders. It analyzes the unique physical properties of powdered foods, such as wettability and porosity, which are determined by their ingredients and manufacturing processes.
To use PowDew, consumers simply open the app and film the baby formula with their smartphone camera. The app then observes the movement of water droplets on the powder’s surface to verify its authenticity.
In tests involving six baby formula brands, the system demonstrated an accuracy rate of up to 96.1% in identifying counterfeit products.
“Not only can we detect melamine, but we can also identify cases where low-quality powder has been mixed in or the entire product has been substituted,” said Yun Jonghyuk, a doctoral student and lead author of the study. “This is done by comparing the droplet formation with that of genuine formula.”
The researchers believe this technology could be expanded to verify other powdered foods and pharmaceuticals.
The study’s findings were recognized with a Best Paper Award at the 2024 ACM MobiSys conference, a prestigious international symposium in the field of mobile computing.
The research team, led by professor Han Jun from KAIST’s School of Computing, collaborated with Yonsei University, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), and the National University of Singapore to create the system, which they’ve named PowDew. (Yonhap)
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
