Abstract: A “smart sticker” employing nanotechnology for determining the current state of raw meat for safe human consumption is provided. The sticker indicates the quality to the consumer by providing a color changing indicator on the sticker. The sticker employs carbon nanoparticles containing iron, which are placed on an underside portion of the sticker in contact with the raw meat. The nanoparticles serve as “bait” for the harmful bacteria. When pathogenic bacteria sense the presence of iron, it produces certain molecules to sequester the iron. Those molecules move to the area where the iron is present in the sticker, which can then determine the amount of pathogenic bacteria present in the meat by way of a chemical reaction with a particular ink containing a novel additive, which reacts with the molecules secreted by the pathogens. Once this interaction occurs, the ink changes color from, for example, blue to yellow.