Gas Sensor Solutions, which is raising up to �?�5m through Goodbody Stockbrokers, is currently testing a tiny sensor with food packagers including Kerry Group, Bowes of Norfolk in Britain and Cargyle meat packing group in the US.

The hope is to tap the enormous global MAP, or 'Modified Atmosphere Packaging', market. MAP is a packaging method where the air is removed and replaced with a mix of carbon dioxide and nitrogen that slows down bacteria growth.

GSS chief executive Morgan Sheehy said last year's MAP market was 45bn items - 3.5bn in the UK alone - and that faulty packaging involves substantial wastage. "Around 5%-8% of nearly every line will have problems."

Under usual quality control systems, once a faulty packet is identified all packages made in the previous hour are destroyed. The idea of the GSS sensor is that it is either part of the packaging or a small label, and shows whether each packet contains the correct gases. "If the retailer wants, it can also have it scanned across the whole lifespan of the product, " Sheehy said.

A version of the sensor that monitors the gas behind picture glass is already in use in art galleries including the Tate, which was its first customer, the Smithsonian, the Getty and the British National History Museum. GSS is starting to crack the doubleglazing market, signing a major American customer in January. But Sheehy believes the food market offers the big opportunity.

The company already raised �?�1.25m last year from Irelandia Investments, the investment vehicle of the Ryan aviation family.