[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 6515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1650]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Prospective Grant of Exclusive License: Food Quality Indicator 
Device

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This is notice, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 
CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i), that the National Institutes of Health, Department 
of Health and Human Services, is contemplating the grant of an 
exclusive patent license to practice the inventions embodied in the JP 
patent application H11-507724, filed 16 July 1998, to MBL, Co., Ltd., 
located in Nagoya-shi, Japan.
    The prospective exclusive license territory may be Japan and the 
field of use may be limited to the development, manufacturing and sales 
of the food indicator devise.

DATES: Only written comments and/or application for a license which are 
received by the National Institutes of Health on or before April 10, 
2006 will be considered.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the patent, inquiries, comments and 
other materials relating to the contemplated exclusive license should 
be directed to: George G. Pipia, PhD., Technology Licensing Specialist, 
Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 
Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, MD 20852-3804; Telephone: 
(301) 435-5560; Facsimile: (301) 402-0220; E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The prospective exclusive license will be 
royalty bearing and will comply with the terms and conditions of 35 
U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i). The prospective exclusive 
license may be granted unless within sixty (60) days from the date of 
this published notice, the NIH receives written evidence and argument 
that establish that the grant of the license would not be consistent 
with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.

Description of the Technology

    E-093-1997/0: Scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 
have invented an effective way to monitor food quality and freshness in 
real time. The major factor for food spoilage is the release of 
volatile gases due to the action of enzymes contained within the food 
or produced by microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeasts and molds 
growing in the food. The rate of release of such gases depends on 
food's storage history. In this technology, a reactive dye locked in a 
water-repellent material reacts with the gases released during food 
decomposition and changes color. Thus a rapid and informed decision can 
be made about quality of food and its shelf life under the storage 
conditions used. Since the detection is based on biological processes 
that are the root cause for food spoilage, these indicators are much 
more reliable.
    This technology provides an excellent alternative to the current 
methods for assessing food quality that cannot accurately estimate 
shelf life of food products due to unreliable storage history. This 
technology is also much less expensive than the current methods. These 
indicators have been successfully tested on seafood and meats and can 
be easily adapted to dairy products. This product is fully developed 
and is ready for full commercial rollout.
    Applications for a license in the field of use filed in response to 
this notice will be treated as objections to the grant of the 
contemplated exclusive license. Comments and objections submitted to 
this notice will not be made available for public inspection and, to 
the extent permitted by law, will not be released under the Freedom of 
Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

    Dated: February 1, 2006.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E6-1650 Filed 2-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-P