Grocery Store Shelves Research Articles

Datasets and methods of product recognition on grocery shelf images using computer vision and machine learning approaches: An exhaustive literature review

A product recognition system recognizes all products on the shelf images and determines their positions. A business equipped with an automatic product recognition system has a convenient follow-up of many human-powered activities while increasing customer satisfaction. That is, product recognition stands out with its benefits such as tracking shelf layouts and stocking their status, and improving the shopping experience for customers, especially the visually impaired ones. However, product recognition is a challenging problem of computer vision in terms of the difficulty of obtaining and updating datasets and the breadth of the product scale. On the other hand, the number of studies on product recognition is constantly increasing by using various computer vision and machine learning methods, and effective solutions are offered to this problem. This paper provide a comprehensive review in the field of researches of product recognition on grocery store shelves. In this article, data sets and approaches used in the literature for the development of an automatic product recognition system are examined and compared, and their benefits and limitations are commented. Finally, a guideline is provided for future researchers and new perspectives for future studies are presented.

This Is the Plate: Utah Food Traditions

This Is the Plate: Utah Food Traditions

Economies of community in local agriculture: Farmers in New London, Connecticut, respond to the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the weak­nesses of the U.S. national food system, with grocery store shelves emptied in March and April 2020 and COVID outbreaks reported throughout the summer of 2020 at meat processing plants across the country. Fleetingly, Americans turned to local farms to ensure they could access food safely in a time of uncertainty. This paper examines the economies of community that formed around local farms and how direct engagements between con­sumers and producers in the face of the pandemic deepened these economic structures that often put community well-being above profits. Within a capitalist system that prioritizes efficient mass production, economies of community illustrate that solidarity can improve local food system resilience. Based on qualitative and quantitative research carried out in the summer of 2020 in New London County in southeastern Connecticut, this research draws on ethnographic interviews with small-scale farmers who developed innovative ways to feed some of their community’s most vulnerable members. Community economies show that we should not only depend on standardized large-scale farms and giant retail distribution; the American food system needs to continue to cultivate small-scale local production in order to improve re­silience and food access. At present, the sus­tainability of producing and distributing food occurs at the farmer’s expense. The government needs to support local food producers so they can continue to play an integral part in community well-being.

Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them

I love reading books that teach me about the things I eat. This book does just that, while being easily understandable and enjoyable. Each chapter of Eating to Extinction tells a fascinating in-depth story about the origins and history of a particular food that is in danger of being lost to us. It is surprising how many foods are in this precarious position. Author Dan Saladino, a renowned British food journalist, uncovers for us why each meat, grain, fruit, and vegetables is in danger of extinction and the impact of these plants’ and animals’ potential extinction on humanity. If you or your students have an interest in the foods you eat and how humanity can prepare for a future with plenty of healthy food for everyone, then you will find this to be a fascinating read.Saladino conducted extensive research, including traveling to many of the sites around the world where these foods originated. There, he met with the people who still have knowledge of the earliest known versions of the food we now find on our grocery store shelves. Chapters discuss how wild foods, ones our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate, were gradually tamed by farmers during our 10,000 years of agriculture. I found it amazing that the author was still able to find some of the earliest versions of the foods covered in the book. The early versions of foods, sometimes called “landraces,” turn out to be critically import for the genetic diversity they hold. This is because it is in these organisms where important survival genes can still be found. Modern farmers often grow vast crops of monoculture plants or animals in which all the organisms are virtually genetically identical. When a disease or pest appears, or when the climate changes, these monocultures have little genetic diversity to help them adapt to the challenge. However, the earlier versions of the foods are much more genetically diverse. It is in these earlier versions of our foods that important survival genes can still be found. One of the major points Saladino makes is that we need to preserve these early versions of our foods so we can protect our food production from collapse by disease and/or environmental challenges by maintaining a large gene pool.Saladino makes these foods sound so enticing that one wants to go out and sample many of them. However, I must admit I am not yet tempted by a few he enjoys, like skerpikjot, a fermented and dried sheep meat from the Faroe Islands that is covered in a thick layer of yellow, chalky, white and brown mold. Saladino enjoys it, as do people around the world with ancestral ties to the Faroe Islands, but his descriptions made me appreciate both our world’s great culinary diversity and, simultaneously, the advent of modern refrigeration.

Assessment of Perceived Discomfort in Older Women with and without Osteoarthritis and Young Women When Reaching for Items on Different Shelf Heights

Age-related functional decline often leads to reduced reach capabilities. This study investigated the self-perceived discomfort experienced by older women with and without osteoarthritis (OA) and young women while reaching for items on various shelf heights. A simulation of six grocery store shelf heights was created in the laboratory, and a perceived discomfort scale measured the discomfort in selecting products from different heights. A body diagram was used to document discomfort at specific body locations. Results from a 3 (groups-older women with and without OA and young women without OA) × 6 (shelf height conditions) ANOVA indicated that discomfort was lowest for shelf heights ranging from 23.5 to 57.5 inches. Older women had significantly higher discomfort mean scores than young women, but there were no statistically significant differences in perceived discomfort scores between the older women with and without OA. Older women with OA reported maximal discomfort at the shoulder for the highest shelf height (72 inches) and lower back for the lowest shelf (4 inches). Maximum participants reported no discomfort in any body part for shelf heights ranging from 23.5 to 57.5 inches.

Nutritional Quality of Wholegrain Cereal-Based Products Sold on the Italian Market: Data from the FLIP Study.

The consumption of wholegrains (WG) is encouraged worldwide, but the lack of a common legal definition of such products leads to an unclear classification and identification on the grocery store shelf. In Italy, several products are generally sold as WG, but it cannot be determined if they are made entirely with all WG cereal(s) or if they are partially produced with WG ingredients (PWG). The aims of this study were to (a) survey the number of cereal-based food items formulated with WG, PWG, or refined (RG) present on the Italian market; and (b) analyse the nutritional quality, intended as nutrition facts, of WG products in comparison to PWG and RG. Nutritional information and declarations were retrieved from packs of 3040 products belonging to five different categories: breakfast cereals, biscuits, sweet snacks, bread, and bread substitutes. A descriptive analysis of the products and comparison of energy, macronutrients, fibre and salt among RG, PWG and WG products within each category was performed. In all categories, a major portion of the products did not contain WG ingredients. Results showed that the nutritional quality of RG, PWG, and WG products varied in relation to the product category and that WG inclusion cannot be always considered a marker of the overall nutritional quality of foods. Instead, it is necessary to evaluate the global product characteristics, and it is important to pay attention to differences between WG and PWG products that can be perceived by consumers as equivalent.

Nouveau noodles and spiderweb soundscapes

New noodle noodled Browse an Italian restaurant menu or grocery store shelves, and you’ll see a familiar stable of pasta shapes like linguine, penne, and rotini. Maybe you’ve tried some less common varieties, like the trendy bucatini. But if you’ve never heard of cascatelli, which roughly translates to “little waterfalls,” don’t feel bad. It’s a brand-new noodle, invented by Dan Pashman of the food podcast The Sporkful . Pashman chronicled the twists and turns (and tubes and ruffles) of the yearslong process of cascatelli’s conception in a recent series of episodes dubbed “Mission: ImPASTAble.” You might imagine that the universe of possible pasta shapes is infinite. But Pashman tells Newscripts that there are limits. The mechanics of making pasta—pressing dough through holes in metal dies—impose certain constraints. How noodles are dried and packaged forces shape choices as well. And humans have their limits too. Pashman had initially envisioned a long

Migration of food contact substances into dry foods: A review

ABSTRACT A comprehensive review of the literature was performed on migration of substances from packaging materials into dry foods, specifically those with surfaces containing no free fats or oils. Historically, migration from food packaging to dry foods has been assumed to be minimal. However, several recent publications have reported concentrations of migrants into dry foods that are substantially higher than anticipated. The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of recent studies that examined migration to dry foods or dry food simulants, observe and assess common migrants, and report the highest migration values. Focusing on the packaging materials and migrants that exhibit the highest migration values, this review divided the studies into two categories: 1) analysis of food products in commercial packaging taken directly from grocery store shelves, and 2) analysis of food products and food simulants in contact with packaging or other material fortified with known quantities of a migrant. Discussions include the examination of migration testing methods, viability of different food simulants, and variables that affect migration behaviour. These include the physicochemical properties of both the migrant and food (i.e. volatility, molecular size, structure, food composition and particle size) and factors pertaining to the packaging material and the environment (i.e. temperature, humidity, and the presence of a secondary barrier). Information gaps and remaining questions are also identified and discussed.

How brand attitude, brand quality, and brand value affect Thai canned tuna consumer brand loyalty

As one of the world's most valuable fish, Tuna can either be found in inexpensive tins on grocery store shelves or on high-end auction blocks destined for Japanese sashimi and sushi restaurants. Moreover, Thailand is reported to be the world's largest exporter of prepared or preserved tuna, which in 2019 contributed an estimated $2.5 billion to Thailand's exports. However, brand research is very limited for canned tuna, especially when it comes to product packaging cues, and how packaging affects a consumer's decision-making process. Therefore, this study set out to investigate which factors play the greatest role in a Thai consumer's brand loyalty (BL) for tuna fish canned products. Research teams using systematic random sampling were dispatched to five supermarkets within the Bangkok metropolitan area and collected 400 questionnaires answering items related to brand attitudes (BA), brand quality (BQ), and brand value (BV) as they related to canned tuna brand loyalty (BL). Thereafter, data analysis of the four constructs and 13 observed variables was conducted with use of LISREL 9.1, which included a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), a goodness-of-fit (GOF) analysis along with the study's structural equation modeling (SEM). Results determined that there was a positive effect (73% R2) between all the causal factors on Thai canned tuna BL. Furthermore, the factors affecting BL ranked from the greatest to the lowest were BA, BQ, and BV with total effect (TE) values of 0.85, 0.33, and 0.19, respectively. Key takeaways from the study's research seem to indicate that canned tuna is viewed by most consumers as a ‘commodity’, with product availability and convenience being of the utmost importance in product brand selection. Global fishing stocks sustainability, labor costs/practices, and dolphin free catches within the tuna industry were also determined to be important aspects within the international consumer community. Also, due to the demand for high-quality and safe tuna products, adding value has become increasingly important in satisfying consumer demands and represents an opportunity for marketplace expansion.

Citizen Surveillance of Misleading Food Labeling

At its core, a food label is a marketing device food manufacturers use to display their product’s most positive attributes in hopes of increasing product sales. In 1906, Congress charged the Food and Drug Administration with policing misleading labeling of food products to ensure that manufacturers present their products truthfully. As the number of food products on grocery store shelves has soared, the FDA has become a less effective enforcer of its statutory mandate. In lieu of government enforcement, state consumer protection statutes, modeled after the Federal Trade Commission Act, have given citizens the ability to directly hold food manufacturers accountable for their misleading marketing choices on food products. Consumers have taken up the mantle of surveillance of food labeling claims, and food labeling litigation has skyrocketed in the last ten years. Nevertheless, one hurdle has consistently blocked litigants from holding companies accountable for their intentionally vague labeling: the reasonable consumer test. Deferring to the Federal Trade Commission’s Deception Policy, state consumer protection statutes uniformly require a plaintiff to prove that a reasonable consumer is likely to be misled by the product’s labeling to succeed on a misleading labeling claim. In practice, this test has frequently prevented plaintiffs from succeeding beyond the motion to dismiss stage because judges have inserted their own views of “reasonable” interpretations of labeling claims, even when those interpretations are in direct contravention with known consumer interpretations of the claim and despite confirming that it is a fact question to be reserved for the jury. As a result, citizen surveillance of misleading food labeling has been restricted. This Article seeks to promote robust citizen surveillance of labeling claims by proposing that the FTC release guidance reframing the reasonable consumer test as a risk-utility analysis, similar to the factor test frequently applied in design defect litigation. A risk-utility analysis of food labeling claims would shift the focus of the inquiry from critiquing the reasonableness of the consumer’s suggested interpretation to an assessment of whether the labeling claim had a capacity to mislead given known consumer interpretations of the claim and disclaimers used by the manufacturer to clarify labeling ambiguities. This framework shift would obligate food manufacturers to be more judicious in examining known consumer interpretations and potential risks of deception when deciding whether to include labeling claims to sell their products. If food manufacturers conclude that a food labeling claim is subject to significant consumer confusion, the risk-utility analysis would require manufacturers to take steps to clarify the claim with disclaimers, further educate consumers on the meaning of the ambiguous claim, or halt use of the claim altogether.

Motivating Pulse-Centric Eating Patterns to Benefit Human and Environmental Well-Being.

Pulses (e.g., lentil, common bean, chickpea, and dry pea) are linked to a myriad of positive human and environmental health impacts, making them an ideal food for wise and conscientious global citizens. In addition, pulses are affordable and shelf-stable. The combination of these factors, an elevated consumer interest in plant-based diets, and the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in increased purchasing of pulses and even empty grocery store shelves. Although pulses have many associated benefits, some consumers are hesitant to regularly eat pulses, claiming concerns of abdominal discomfort or a lack of knowledge on how to best prepare pulses. To capitalize on increased consumer interest and purchasing of pulses, now is the time for outreach efforts that address these concerns and the positive outcomes associated with pulses, thereby promoting public and environmental health. Consumers must actively decide to add pulses to their grocery lists and incorporate them into their regular eating patterns. Motivation to adopt new eating habits is essential because knowledge alone does not result in behavior change. Thus, to mitigate perceived barriers and drive consumption, we suggest application of the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model and emphasis of three main benefits of pulses as motivators: (1) culinary versatility, (2) sustainability, and (3) healthfulness.

Covid‐19 and Our Understanding of Risk, Emergencies, and Crises

Covid‐19 and Our Understanding of Risk, Emergencies, and Crises

Beyond Victory Gardens: Bolstering Resilience in Food Crisis Response

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted much of daily life, not the least of which was the nation’s food supply. Empty grocery store shelves, rotting produce in the fields, and gallons of milk dumped rather than sold manifested as symptoms of the fragile nature of the U.S. food system. Rectifying issues of resilience through the incorporation of local and regional food sources as supplementary to the existing channels of production and distribution may have prevented such a harsh shock to the system. This article identifies the weaknesses of the U.S.’s industrial and consolidated food supply chain that prioritizes extraction and economic gain over resiliency, and further describes the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these points of failure. The article first depicts some of the disruptions to the food supply chain stemming from consequences of the pandemic such as issues with matching supply to demand, wasting large quantities of food, and exacerbating systemic food insecurity. The article then provides a comprehensive overview of existing government crisis and disaster planning with an eye toward how these plans and policies incorporate or ignore implementing local and regional food into the greater food supply. The article concludes with recommendations for how to integrate local and regional food sources into government planning, identifying local and regional private entities such as food policy councils, farmers markets, and food banks as the most promising vehicles of change.

Canola Breeding for HUMAN HEALTH

Canola Breeding for HUMAN HEALTH

The Consumer Costs of Food Certification: A Pilot Study and Research Opportunities

Certification labels have become a ubiquitous feature on food products across grocery store shelves. Although it is widely acknowledged that certified products often garner higher prices than their noncertified competition, less is known regarding what those price differences are based on, and what the personal, political, or ethical implications are for consumers. This research note argues for greater attention to the implications of certified food prices—which we conceptualize as the “consumer costs” of food certification. The paper discusses the theoretical linkages between food certifications and prices, and outlines the resulting consumer costs of which we are concerned. Through a pilot study in Salt Lake City, Utah, we investigate prices found on certified grocery store rice, and consider the causes and implications of the consumer costs of food certification.

Illegal use of fipronil contaminates EU eggs

Retailers in the European Union, Hong Kong, and South Korea have removed millions of eggs from grocery store shelves and destroyed them over concerns that they are contaminated with the insecticide...

Avocados crossing borders: The problem of runaway objects and the solution of a shipping information pipeline for improving international trade

AbstractThis paper investigates the case of shipments of containers with avocados from farmers in Africa to grocery store shelves in the European Union. We find 3 predominant challenges to containerized shipping that effectively become trade barriers: international trade cost, lead time uncertainty, and security risks. We use activity theory to describe, understand, and analyze the shipping activity in the international trade ecosystem with focus on physical objects and their related information. We find that the shipment becomes problematic and can be characterized as a runaway object in the heterogeneous and multiple organizational setting of international trade. Our analysis of shipping reveals (1) inefficient collaboration across loosely coupled activity systems and (2) fragmented information infrastructures. We propose the solution of Shipping Information Pipeline, a shared information infrastructure, thus facilitating collaboration in containerized shipping and contributing to lowering trade barriers. Shipping Information Pipeline can significantly improve containerized shipping resulting in estimated potential benefits of up to 4.7% growth in global GDP.

Grocery shelf stocking tool: analysis of productivity and human factors

Purpose – Grocery store tasks provide many opportunities for efficiency and ergonomic improvements. Shelf stocking is one task that has received considerable attention in recent years as grocery stores seek to remain competitive by stocking shelves in an efficient manner in order to satisfy customers. The purpose of this paper is to detail an analysis performed to evaluate the effectiveness of a grocery store shelf stocking tool. This shelf stocking aid is a device designed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of stocking and fronting shelves in a supermarket or a similar retail environment. Design/methodology/approach – To test the claims that the device actually does improve stocking accuracy, efficiency, and ergonomic soundness, an experiment was conducted to compare the processes of stocking shelves and fronting items on shelves with and without the stocking tool. In creating the realistic conditions of a real-world store environment, extensive inquiry about item stocking and fronting procedures was made by visiting stores and discussing the stocking and fronting tasks with industry experts. Tests were performed at varying combinations of shelf heights, shelf fullness, with and without First-In First-Out processing, and with various merchandise sizes and shapes. Findings – The results indicate that the shelf stocking tool significantly reduces shelf stocking and fronting time. The ergonomic merits of the tool were also analyzed. A Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) was performed to evaluate biomechanical and postural stresses experienced by a shelf stocker as they stock and front store shelves. It appears that the largest contributor to higher-than-expected RULA scores is extensive upper torso bending in the sagittal plane at the L5 S1 disc position. This is exacerbated as the stocker reaches lower shelves and bends forward to reach under the shelf directly above the item being stocked or fronted. Research limitations/implications – Only three tall and five short items were used in testing. More testing is needed to draw conclusions about stacking items. Cumulative fatigue effects were not tested nor were the locations of specific physical discomfort. Testing was not done to examine simultaneously fronting two rows with the shelf stocking tool. Testing was not done to simulate the use of a step stool, including moving and repositioning the step stool for manual restocking and fronting on high shelves. The step stool handling would improve relative performance of the shelf stocking tool because the tool eliminates the need for a step stool. Practical implications – Grocery store shelf stocking associates are at risk of developing cumulative trauma type injuries from awkward posture that they have to use when stocking shelves. With many small items on a shelf that are continually becoming disheveled as customers purchase the items, there are significant inefficiencies in continually arranging and rearranging the items as well as adding new. The analysis of a tool of the type tested here has shown that the use of a simple tool such as the one tested can go a long way to improving both of these elements of the stocking and fronting task. Originality/value – While the shelf stocking tool is not necessarily a remedy for bending, it appears to reduce more pronounced bending than what is required without it. For stocking or fronting upper shelves, it also appears to reduce the extensive reaches (the second most stressful contributor to the high RULA scores). This approach to stocking and fronting shelves has helped to verify the idea that a tool such as this can help to improve not only the speed and efficiency at which the task is accomplished it can also reduce the stress on the back and shoulders during this tedious task.

A Fresh Take on Fake Meat

For some, the pleasure of eating meat comes served with a side of guilt. Raising animals for food contributes to climate change, water pollution, and habitat destruction. Governmental dietary recommendations and social campaigns like Meatless Monday pepper us with messages to eat less meat, particularly red meat. But for meat lovers, come dinnertime, alternative protein sources, like beans or soy-based meat substitutes, are no match for the experience of eating a burger. Taking a bite, the meat feels dense, it rebounds as you chew, and juices squirt into your mouth. Consumers crave it, and global demand for meat is projected to skyrocket. Now scientists are using food science, biotechnology, and tissue engineering to develop new meat substitutes with the taste, texture, and appearance of meat—to deliver the pleasure, without the environmental consequences. Chicken strips, ground beef crumbles, and burgers made with these techniques are already appearing on grocery store shelves, made by companies with reported funding from tech giants like Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Google cofounder Sergey Brin, and Twitter founders Biz Stone and Evan Williams. Whether driven by a desire to save the planet or make healthier foods, these food innovators hope high-tech toolkits will help create products that meat eaters love. Sources: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Ecosystems 2012, DOI: 10.1007/s10021-011-9517-8.

The Juggling Act

The Juggling Act Samantha René Merriwether Depressed. Anxious. Insomniac. Learning Disabled. Physically impaired. Sufferer of Post–Traumatic Stress Disorder. Would you choose any of these labels? How about taking two or three? Sound manageable? Probably not. But why? All across our society are plastered expectations of perfection, normalcy and “acceptable” images. I am 27–years–old and, despite the years of education I have received, the communication skills I have gained in English and American Sign Language (ASL), the countless hours spent with doctors consulting about how to “get better,” I have lost my sense of identity. And, the more I think about it, the more I realize that my “authentic voice” has not yet been born. This is the reality for me and, I suspect, for anyone else who has been labeled disabled. When I sat down to write this, I did not struggle coming up with a story to share nor the words to intrigue readers. Instead, I grappled over using my real name and not using a “pen name.” Despite my long and varied history with disability, it took me a long time to advocate my issues enough to receive services. Because labels are embarrassing. Because disability is embarrassing. And, so, now I have labels . . . many labels. However, it is still accepting them that I am left with. Unfortunately, I am just one of millions who are also fighting to find some sense of balance between honesty with myself and the societal labels that are at the forefront of our communities. It has been a year since I took Disability Studies, a cultural pluralism course requirement for my Liberal Studies Degree at California State University. On the surface choosing this sub topic could have been perceived as an easy A, given that I am disabled. Yes, having a disability enabled the language used to be less of a shock in my overall comprehension. In reality, however, the struggle to achieve success academically is continuously challenged by my own disabilities. However, despite succeeding in the course, “easy” is not an adjective that appropriately represents my experience. The knowledge I grasped in the classroom helps me to understand what happens when I walk outside on any given day; but therein lies the glitch . . . the class is over, but my disabilities never will be. Did I enjoy the topic of Disability Studies? Yes, immensely. Because it was something I could relate to. Did enjoying the subject matter take the struggle for comprehension away? No. Did my dyslexia absolve into thin air? No. Being disabled does not admit me, nor anyone else for that matter, into the disabled world with a “free pass from suffering” as if we are all in a club. Having a diagnosis helps to identify why I may not be able to do things in the way others may perceive as “normal.” But, it is the label of being “normal” that is detrimental to achieving success. It represents why our society has a stilted perspective towards those who wear glasses, use walking aides, or need assistance to get [End Page 205] something from a grocery store shelf. Additionally, implying that any one way of completing a task is “normal” is wrong and further accents those differences, which are just that . . . differences. One component of this course was a Panel Discussion with those living in the TAB (temporarily–able bodied) community. Approaching this event, I was possibly more nervous to ask questions than for the four members having to answer questions. The paradox of wanting to gain more understanding from those most qualified individuals who live with these struggles everyday and intellectually knowing that respect needed to come first was immense. Oddly, once the panel opened up, asking questions was not hard. Within the first ten minutes my fears subsided; the entire experience was like speaking to old friends, only I had just met them. These individuals were, yes, dealing with impairments, but were just as relatable to me as I was to them. And, to my surprise, they were inquisitive and curious towards each other as well. This reinforced that fact that when information is lacking our society we still rely on stereotypes about topics we are...