MEAT

To-Genkyo are a small design company in Kyoto who according to their website, “make a small utopia of daily life. TO-GENKYO gropes for the idea that improves living”.

Their groping around has come up with these egg-timer-shaped expiry-date labels for packages of meat. 

As the meat starts to go off it gives off more and more ammonia, which causes the label to darken making it easy to see how fresh the meat really is. 

Eventually the barcode at the bottom of the label becomes unscannable, and the shop can't sell any dodgy old meat. 

 No sign of these in the shops here yet but can't wait to see this sort of label in kebab houses on the elephant's legs.