Can AI Reduce Food Waste?

Robert Woolliams

October 21, 2016

2 Min Read

In the UK alone, we throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our houses every year, adding up to £470 per household per year, or even £700 for a family with children. What if artificial intelligence could help us reduce food-waste, and help not only our personal economy, but the environment as well?

The developers behind the EatBy App are hopeful that AI can become the solution to food waste in our homes, as they have incorporated artificial intelligence into their kitchen management and grocery list-app, in order to reduce domestic food waste, Scientists Live writes.

With the latest release of the app comes a new feature that automatically suggests how long food such as fruits and vegetables, that expires quickly, will stay fresh for. When an item is approaching its expiry date, the app will also remind you to use them before they need to be thrown away.

However, this is not the "clever bit", according to EatBy App's developers. The clever part is that the app actually learns the storage habit of each individual user.

"Not everyone's kitchen is the same, and different food storage environments effect shelf life. EatBy App addresses this problem by learning as it's used over time."

Despite many supermarkets and grocery stores going to great lengths to reduce their food waste, domestic food waste is now the biggest contributor to the global food waste problem, Scientists Live writes.

EatBy's app developers still believes that the key to changing this trend lies at the hands of each household, and stresses the importance of everyone reviewing their grocery shopping and food consumption habits.

"With the escalation of food prices, especially in the UK, where the British Pound has slumped as a reaction of Brexit, careful food management is becoming more important. EatBy App is the leading smart kitchen technology and its development team are one of only a few to come up with a successful domestic food waste reduction solution", Scientists Live writes.

The response by users and the press have been very positive up until now, and the producers urge everyone to focus more on developing apps that prevents the accumulation of unwanted food in the first place, rather than apps designed to share unwanted food.

The original article was found at: http://www.scientistlive.com/content/artificial-intelligence-solution-food-waste-home

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