5 Emerging Technologies That Help Reduce Food Waste

Technologies That Help Reduce Food Waste

1.3 billion tons of food goes to waste each year, causing trillions of dollars in costs to the economy, the environment and even social costs such as healthcare and worker productivity. 70% of food waste occurs before it even gets to the consumer. Seeing this negative trend, many companies have turned to technology to fix this issue. Here are some emerging companies that have found a way to help reduce food waste.

ObservantIQ

SureSensor utilizes sensor-based technology to identify where food can potentially spoil throughout the supply chain. The temperature of food can greatly impact its freshness once it gets to the consumer. From monitoring refrigeration systems to mobile asset tracking, Observant IQ detects any temperature fluctuations that could impact food freshness, reducing spoilage and improving how long food providers can keep that food out on the floor. With 70% of food waste happening before it gets to the consumer, ObservantIQ is a great solution for grocery stores, restaurants and food suppliers to keep their product in fresh condition longer.

NanoPack

Nanopack is a start-up that utilizes nanotechnology in a packaging film that inhibits microbial growth. Looking similar to plastic wrap, Nanopack puts antioxidant and antimicrobial rich nanotubes into their film to slow down spoilage. Over time these nanotubes slowly release essential oils that kill or slow the growth of bacteria and mold, allowing longer food freshness from ship to table.

Apeel

Similar to Nanopack, Apeel’s innovation is focused on improving the packaging aspect of the supply chain. Putting wax on produce is not a new idea, but Apeel takes the concept and improves upon it considerably. They utilize an invisible, edible coating on fruits and vegetables which can extend shelf life by 5 times longer than traditional wax. They can even deliver added consumer benefits such as provide a hand of 5 bananas that each ripen on consecutive days. No more rushing to eat the last 2 bananas at the end of the week!

Full Harvest

Cosmetically imperfect, or ugly foods lead to roughly 10 million tons of food waste each year. Full Harvest combats this superficial preference by developing a secondary marketplace for food companies to buy and sell imperfect foods. Food that otherwise would be thrown away, can now get a second chance to exist on store shelves or be used in food preparation. The Full Harvest marketplace handles the entire process- from purchase to delivery.

Wasteless

Typically, when food hasn’t sold and is getting closer to the sell-by date, supermarkets reduce its price to increase the chance that consumers will buy it. Wasteless helps make these price adjustments with an AI-powered dynamic pricing application. It aids supermarkets with timely and effective pricing that optimizes the price point of food and product profitability. Wasteless makes it easier to increase profit margins as well as reduce food waste associated with perishing food.

For nearly 20 years, Central Florida Store Services has been providing general contracting, mechanical contracting, HVAC and refrigeration services for the Florida market. They have delivered over 16,000 service calls to this day and have developed a strong reputation for service quality and customer service. Its business model is designed to be a one-stop-shop for all facility needs, creating more time and maximum value to its clients.