Modern technology has the power to transform the way consumers shop and potentially reduce food waste. Innovations in technology include intelligent food labelling, mobile phone-controlled apps and even smart fridges.
On sale for the first time in the UK this autumn is the highly anticipated smart fridge from Samsung. Costing £4,499, the Family Hubrefrigerator is connected to the internet via Wi-Fi. The device has three built-in cameras so owners can check its contents while out shopping. It also includes Alexa, Amazon’s AI assistant, which responds to voice commands – so you can tell it to turn music on, order more tomatoes and make notes.
Sainsbury’s has produced a battery of techno-gadgets that consumers are testing in its pioneering experiment in Swadlincote, Derbyshire. The Waste Less, Save More project aims to reduce food waste by 50% and save the average household £350 a year. Working closely with Bosch it has introduced 20 smart fridges. With the fridges featuring built-in cameras accessible via a smartphone app, users will be able to check their contents at any time, helping them to avoid over-buying and even zooming in to check use-by dates.
The supermarket says a simple change such as adjusting the fridge to the optimum temperature (between 2-5°C) can significantly increase the length of time foods can be stored.
A stick-on “leftover label” that changes colour reminds consumers not to forget their leftovers. For example, green signifies the food is good to eat, while yellow tells that they haven’t got long to reuse the item. Sainsbury’s is trialling these labels in Swadlincote but will be looking at the potential to widen this across all its packaging.
Also being trialled is a free food-sharing app, Olio, which helps consumers connect with people in the same area who have leftover food to give away, allowing surplus to be shared and not wasted.
