Food waste is endemic across the supply chain, with staggering impacts for our climate. Each year we generate a volume of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of 42 coal-fired power plants, and use up enough water and energy to supply more than 50 million homes — all to produce food that goes uneaten, according to the EPA.
From the farm to consumers’ kitchens, a range of technologies is helping to reduce that waste. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the most exciting developments in waste prevention tech, from a data-driven ordering system, to a food container that sends spoilage alerts to your smartphone.
Growers & Processors
Better packaging is one piece of the puzzle. Both Hazel Technologies of Chicago and AgroFresh of Philadelphia have developed next-generation packaging products that release active ingredients into the storage environment. Those ingredients counter the effects of naturally released hormones like ethylene, which would otherwise cause produce to ripen and spoil more quickly.
AgroFresh implements its packaging solutions as a part of an integrated storage management platform, which also uses aggregated data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to provide insights on spoilage. That platform recently helped Starr Ranch Growers, a Washington state fruit producer, to transition from manual warehouse inspections to a data-driven solution.
Machine learning can be used to also cut food waste at the processing stage, as demonstrated by a study on quality management practices in the dairy industry. Dairy items are some of the most likely food products to go to waste, largely due to contamination by microorganisms. The study, which was recently published in the Journal of Food Protection, analyzed data on bacterial spoilage at different dairy processing facilities to determine which processing, equipment, and inspection factors were most likely to lead to ruined food. Analysis like this could help dairy plants and other food processors to target their efforts on improving the manufacturing processes that will make the biggest difference.
Food Service
For the food service industry, the journey to reducing waste starts with data-driven ordering. Shelf Engine, a Seattle-based startup, generates probabilistic models forecasting the demand for a given store’s individual SKUs. Shelf Engine takes over as an automated order manager, and provides weekly reporting on sales and gross profits. The company estimates that it has saved 547 tons of food from going to waste so far.
San Francisco-based startup Therma is helping retailers to make food storage smarter with a system of humidity and temperature sensors that can be set up in storage areas like freezers and dry rooms. Therma’s system constantly monitors those environments to ensure stable conditions, and creates automated data reports. One of Therma’s clients, the owner of 14 McDonald’s stores in Louisiana and Texas, estimates that the system is saving $4,500 per year in labor costs (not to mention saved costs from avoiding food spoilage).
And when restaurants find that they have surplus food on their hands at the end of the day, software like the MealPass App can help them to partner with nonprofits to deliver those excess meals to families in need. The MealPass App also helps restaurants to claim rewards for those donations by generating data reports that can be used for IRS deductions.
Consumer Kitchens
New technologies are increasingly becoming available to consumers who wish to cut food waste in their own homes. U.K.-based startup BlakBear is developing smart food storage solutions for consumers as well as processors and retailers. As The Spoon reported last year, the company’s smart food containers sense the gases that food items emit as they go bad. The consumer version of the system will incorporate a smartphone app with analytics and alerts about impending spoilage.
To Good To Go, based in Denmark, allows consumers to purchase surplus food from restaurants at a reduced rate. The Too Good To Go app expanded to the U.S. in September, and recently announced a new partnership with restaurant chain Le Pain Quotidien.
The technologies above are saving food from going to waste in the first place. For food waste that does occur, upcycling can help to prevent spoiled food items from languishing in landfills, where they release methane, and instead find them second lives as valuable products. For example, ALT TEX is turning food waste into a polyester textile alternative.
In 2022, we’re likely to see further development of both food-saving technologies and the upcycling industry, as businesses increasingly recognize the cost savings that can go hand-in-hand with reducing waste.
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