New high-protein peas, lab-grown ice cream, and calorie-free sweeteners are all part of the greener, healthier food supply of the future. Innovations in the food industry can do many things: reduce resource consumption, protect workers, and replace animal protein with plant-based ones.
Perfect Day: artificial ice cream
Perfect Day creates milk proteins (casein and whey) identical to those found in milk by fermenting mushrooms. Last year, the company introduced its first commercial product, an all-plant dessert developed in collaboration with the Brave Robot ice cream brand.
Apeel: longer shelf life for fruits and vegetables and less plastic
The company is known for creating plant-based coatings for foods that increase their shelf life. Recently, Apeel introduced a shell specifically for apples, and also supplied cucumbers without plastic packaging to more than 100 Walmart stores, removing 27 kg of plastic from the annual supply chain.
AI cameras monitor kitchen order in Shanghai restaurants
KanKan has developed AI-powered cameras that make sure that chefs and their assistants wear masks and caps. Artificial intelligence instantly detects any deviation from sanitary standards and saves images with details of the violation, which are then reviewed by healthcare institutions in China. So far, the technology is used in 200 restaurants, but in the near future it is planned to be implemented in 2,000 more facilities and then distributed to all catering establishments in the country.
Winnow Solutions: controlling food waste
London-based Winnow Solutions develops technology for catering and hotel organizations that helps reduce food waste and financial costs. Special devices track food consumption through weight monitoring, thereby showing staff the value of what they throw away. The new AI-powered version of Winnow Vision is used by IKEA and Armani Hotels.
The food factory in the German city of Heppenheim is one of the largest enterprises in Europe. It produces 500 liters of Langnese ice cream every minute. To cool the finished product, the factory uses liquid ammonia, which can cause severe chemical burns. To protect employees, the plant’s management has installed sensors that respond to ammonia levels. When the concentration of the substance in the air becomes high, alarms are triggered, employees are notified and can evacuate.
Artificial intelligence and the Internet control water production
Startup Wi-Next creates devices and programs for collecting data from industrial machines, including those in the food industry. The company has developed receptors that are installed on the production line of bottled water. Using the devices, factory workers check how full each bottle is. The data from the sensors is sent via Wi-Fi to the Wi-Next program and then sent to the cloud. The information can then be analyzed to understand how to adjust or improve the production process.
