New Technology Tells You When To Throw Out Your Milk

Checking whether or not the milk has gone bad is never fun. You can try peering into the carton to see if you can detect any bacterial activity going on, though that probably won't reap any results. Then there's the dreaded sniff test. And while you don't want to subject your nostrils to that horror, you do need to find out whether or not you're having cereal.

Some engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan are hoping to eliminate this chore for you altogether, according to Grist.

With the help of 3-D printing, a "smart cap" would replace the one currently on top of your carton. The cap would be made of 3-D-printed electrical and wireless materials. Wireless sensors would be able to detect the levels of bacteria in the milk via "changes in electrical signals," according to Grist.

Basically, it's like the cap does the sniffing for you.

The engineers have already tested the cap out by leaving a carton of milk outside for three days to ensure an incredibly ripe product. The sensors went off when bacteria were detected.

Thanks to these engineers, you might not ever again have to fear what's in the carton. Or accidently ingest chunky milk. Dare we say that there's no longer a need to cry over spoiled milk?