Use of intelligent applications to reduce household food waste

Abstract

Household food waste is gaining an increasing emphasis worldwide. Multiple factors have been identified that contribute to household food waste including a lack of consumer understanding of durability coding and expiration dates on food. The aim of research is to review the evolution of date labeling and associated on-pack information, its interrelationship with household food waste, and potential future developments in intelligent applications to address food waste, transparency of communication and food safety. The length of shelf-life influences food waste with a longer shelf-life leading to less waste. Whilst preservatives extend shelf-life, the trend towards “clean labels” means that alternative intelligent approaches may be required that meet the expectations of consumers, improve personal agency in terms of improving product storage conditions, purchasing behavior to minimize food waste and support effective household inventory management. Intelligent options considered in this paper include: intelligent packaging and also intelligent appliances as part of an internet of things (IoT) enabled “smart kitchen.”