Cutting Down on Waste

More than 2.1 billion tons of food worldwide will be tossed in the garbage can by 2030, predicts the Boston Consulting Group. And the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reports that food waste and loss accounts for 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Both the amount of food waste and the greenhouse gas emission that waste generates could be substantially reduced thanks to a new mobile food scanner that is expected to hit the market later in 2019. The pocket-sized scanner is being developed by a German research organization and uses an infrared sensor to determine the safety of fresh food, which is measured using an app on a smartphone or tablet.

A lot of edible food is discarded prematurely because of blemishes or because it has lasted beyond its past use by date. Consumers have no way to determine if blemished or expired food is still safe to eat. Most consumers would rather be safe than sorry, contributing to a lot of unnecessary food waste. The scanner and app developers hope that their new technology will curtail needless food waste.

The scanner uses a near-infrared sensor to determine the ripeness of food. Artificial Intelligence converts the sensor readings into inferences about the safety of the food scanned. Currently, the technology is only capable of determining the ripeness of a single ingredient. You can't scan a plate of leftovers to decide whether they have gone bad nor can you assess the safety of pre-prepared food. However, the researchers developing the technology plan to expand applications across multi-ingredient foods soon.

An added bonus of the technology is that the scanner can determine the authenticity of the food scanned. For example, it can determine the difference between real crab and manufactured crab and the difference between salmon and salmon trout.

The scanner is further evidence of how technology will continue to change the way we prepare meals and eat. Kitchens are becoming more connected with new applications coming to market almost daily. If you would like to know how you can take advantage of new technologies that enhance your family's lifestyle, health and well-being, give us a call at 215-357-9300 or visit our showroom, right outside Northeast Philadelphia, at 350 Bustleton Pike in Feasterville, Pennsylvania.