AI to Reduce Food Waste
Food waste is a global issue that poses a plethora of challenges at humanitarian, environmental and economic levels. However, the threat that it actually poses is often overlooked or underrated. The people working in the hospitality industry witness a large amount of food that gets wasted each day by the hotels alone. While the hotels are engaging in reusability solutions of the remaining food by involving in donations, or using it to prepare compost to reduce the waste generated by them, it is not an ultimate solution. Reducing the waste in the first place needs to be considered as a solution to fight against the global food waste crisis.
In order to aid the commercial kitchens by helping them being mindful about the kind of waste they generate on a daily basis, a UK based company has introduced an artificial intelligence system. Winnow Solutions is on a mission to connect commercial kitchens while creating a movement of chefs and inspires others to realise the importance of food.
The product Winnow Vision is an AI that uses a camera, smart scales and machine learning technology which recognises various kinds of foods thrown into the bin. The system then calculates the financial and environmental costs of the food that is being discarded in order to make the commercial kitchen aware of the value of food that they are wasting. This would make them well aware of it which can help them make a decision to use the food more judiciously.
The product has been tested by brands such as Ikea and Emaar Hospitality group before its launch. These corporates confirmed that the product has surpassed the levels of accuracy possible by humans and has the potential to enable the chefs to run an efficient and profitable kitchen while reducing food waste.
This revolutionary product gets better and more efficient in its predictions as the frequency of its use increases, like every other machine learning technology. Over time, the product can help in tackling overproduction of a particular kind of food as it understands what it is discarded the most. The data revealed thus can help the businesses and chefs to make their food purchasing decisions more accurately.
Winnow has estimated that this technology can help commercial kitchens save more than $30 million in annual food costs. By providing clear visibility and understanding into what is being wasted, Winnow Vision can truly empower the commercial kitchens by helping them in reducing food waste significantly while making more profit.
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