LED breakthrough in food lighting applications

At present, supermarket foods, especially cooked foods and cold foods, are generally illuminated by fluorescent lamps. This traditional high-heat lighting system can damage meat or meat products, and can form condensation inside plastic packaging. In addition, fluorescent lighting often dazzles elderly customers, making it difficult for them to see the food clearly. Recently, German researchers have developed a new ultra-high brightness LED food uniform lighting technology that integrates LED lighting and reflection technology to solve the food lighting problem. It is reported that the researchers have developed two demonstration devices.

1. Anti-glare and uniform lighting device

The researchers used high-efficiency, high-brightness LED light sources to achieve the desired effect of no glare on the lighting surface through reflection from the reflective surface. At present, the researchers have developed a lighting demonstration device using a high-reflection efficiency aluminum coating reflective surface, and its lighting effect has reached the optical requirements of uniform lighting. This technology can be used to evenly illuminate vegetables, meat and baked foods, truly reflecting the natural color of the food.

2. Smart lighting control device

The researchers also developed an intelligent control device for LED lighting. Sensors are used to monitor the color of the radiation spectrum of vegetables, meat or baked foods. According to changes in the radiation spectrum, the illumination intensity is adjusted in real time to achieve the best lighting effect.

In the next stage, researchers will focus on how to integrate the two devices and design new lighting technology products that combine the two functions. This research is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research's "HIREFLED" joint research project. The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology in Germany and three companies, including Alanod and Alux-LuxarundBaero, jointly participated in the project research and development.

If the research is successful, using LED lighting to replace traditional lighting fixtures will extend the shelf life of food, make the color of food more realistic, and make it easier for customers to choose food. As people continue to study LED lighting, the advantages of LED lighting are increasing. I believe that the time will not be far for LED lighting to replace traditional lighting fixtures and become popular in various fields.

LEDinside's opinion: In addition to the above two points, the heavy metal-free nature of LED lights is also a factor in the selection of food lighting. However, with the current level of LED lighting, it is still difficult to restore the original color of food. The heat generated by LED lights is also considerable. If the color rendering index and heat generation problems of LEDs can be solved, LEDs should have a very good application prospect in food lighting.