Pilar Granado, Pablo Sosa Domínguez and Luis Chimeno

Food waste is a staggering global issue:  In the EU alone, over 59 million tonnes of food is discarded annually, amounting to 132 kg per inhabitant and a market loss of approximately EUR 132 billion. Globally, nearly one-fifth of all food available to consumers is discarded mainly due to safety concerns, with foodborne diseases affecting over 200 000 people each year in the EU. Beyond its financial toll, food waste accounts for more than 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. University friends Granado, Domínguez and Chimeno founded Oscillum to tackle this issue head on. Their biodegradable smart labels enable suppliers and consumers to monitor the freshness of perishable foods in real-time. This technology can also be applied to fruits to indicate ripeness, reducing over-handling and damage from consumers that squeeze fresh produce to check ripeness. 

While food labels help keep people safe, terms like “use by” and “best before” are often misunderstood, inadvertently causing consumers feeling unsafe and leading to unnecessary waste. Existing freshness indicators have drawbacks; for example, time-temperature systems assume that any break in the cold chain means spoilage, which is not always accurate. Oscillum's technology uses intelligent indicators (molecules) inside the label. As bacteria multiply, they generate compounds that interact with the indicator on the label, causing it to gradually change colour. This colour transition also indicates the freshness of packaged foods after they have been opened.   

Turning a kitchen dilemma into a breakthrough technology 

The trio lived together while studying at Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche in Alicante, Spain. One Sunday evening, Sosa planned to cook but found only a questionable piece of meat that had been sitting in the fridge for some time. His flatmates felt it would be unwise to consume the meat, but Sosa prepared his dish and lived to tell the tale. Chimeno explains, “That made us think about how often people, including ourselves, waste food based on appearance alone. That’s when we started imagining simple, intuitive ways to determine if a product is still good.”  

They began working on a smart label concept but hit several rocky patches in their entrepreneurial journey, notably scaling for industry and technical challenges in printing such labels. The team gained valuable business insights through participation in accelerator programs and competitions, while partnering with experienced printing firms helped them turn their concept into a reality. They officially launched Oscillum in 2019 using only EUR 6 000 of self-funded capital. 

Today, the company continues to grow, collaborating with new partners to expand its range of smart labels. “Oscillum now provides both intelligent and active packaging solutions. We don't just monitor what’s happening with the product—we can now also act on it," explains Chimeno. 

Towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 

Oscillum’s smart labels contribute to SDG 2 (zero hunger) by minimising unnecessary food disposal. By preventing foodborne illness, they promote SDG 3 (good health and well-being). Their biodegradable design and waste reduction align with SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production), while lowering food-related emissions supports SDG 13 (climate action).