FreshSens’ Post

Food waste is a serious problem not only for present generation but also for future generation, but the emerging technology is playing a great role in tackling this problem. Various teach innovations have been made to encounter against food waste: drones patrolling fields, using sensors to check for water need or bug infectious crops. This is precision agriculture, using data to maximize yields and minimize wasted produce. Even storage facilities are getting a tech upgrade. Sensors ensure perfect temperature and humidity, keeping food fresher for longer. Tech also paves a way to upgrade the Supply Chain by making it smarter. The journey from farm to table can be a harsh one. But the Internet of Things (IoT) is smoothing it. Sensors track food temperature and location during transport, ensuring optimal conditions and reducing spoilage. The same tech helps predict demand, allowing stores to order only what they need, preventing mountains of unused food. Moreover, many a time we often forget veggies in the back of the fridge which latter gets rotten so, for that smart fridge apps are here to save the unobserved food. They track expiration dates, suggesting using up the ingredients before they spoil. Apps like "Food for Good" gives you information about your nearing-expiry food, so you can save money and fight waste simultaneously. By using these innovations, we can create a more sustainable food system, ensuring less food that ends up in landfills and more on our plates.

Its pretty much impossible to ignore the constant onslaught of data innovations and process technologies that enter every part of our life’s. Often frustratingly so, however Technology plays a crucial role in balancing sustainable innovation with the fast-paced demands of the foodservice sector. Here are a few key ways it contributes: 1.) Supply Chain Optimization: Advanced analytics and IoT (Internet of Things) devices can track and optimize the supply chain, reducing waste and ensuring efficient use of resources. This helps in sourcing ingredients sustainably and minimizing carbon footprints. 2.) Smart Packaging: Innovations in packaging technology, such as biodegradable materials and smart packaging that monitors freshness, can significantly reduce environmental impact. These technologies ensure that packaging is both functional and eco-friendly. 3.) Food Waste Management: AI and machine learning can predict demand more accurately, helping to reduce food waste. Additionally, technologies like composting machines and anaerobic digesters can convert food waste into energy or compost, promoting a circular economy. 4.) Sustainable Menu Development: Data analytics can help identify sustainable ingredients and popular trends, allowing businesses to create menus that are both trendy and eco-friendly. This ensures that consumer demands are met without compromising on sustainability. 5.) Consumer Engagement: Digital platforms and apps can educate consumers about the sustainability efforts of a business, encouraging them to make more eco-conscious choices. Interactive apps can also provide information on the environmental impact of different menu items. By leveraging these technologies, the foodservice sector can innovate responsibly while meeting consumer demands. How do you see technology fitting into your sustainability strategy?

Innovation in the Agriculture Sector The agriculture sector is undergoing a transformation, driven by a wave of innovation that promises to reshape the future of food production and sustainability. As the world grapples with the challenges of feeding a growing population amid climate change, technological advancements are emerging as a beacon of hope. One of the most significant innovations is the integration of accurate weather forecasts, which are crucial for farmers to make informed decisions about planting and harvesting. The use of microbial fertilizers is also gaining traction, offering a sustainable alternative to synthetic fertilizers, which are known contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the advent of farm automation has revolutionized traditional farming practices. Drones and advanced sensors are now commonplace, enabling farmers to monitor crop health and soil quality with precision. This level of automation not only enhances productivity but also allows farmers to allocate their resources more efficiently. Blockchain technology is another groundbreaking development in the agriculture sector. It provides an auditable database that ensures the traceability of produce from farm to shelf, enhancing food safety and quality. India, as the world's largest producer of fruits and vegetables, is planning to adopt blockchain technologies to improve transparency in its agricultural supply chain. Furthermore, the Internet of Things (IoT) is being utilized as a smart farming solution, employing sensors to track various parameters such as soil moisture and crop health. This data-driven approach facilitates automated irrigation systems, optimizing water usage and contributing to sustainable agriculture practices. These innovations represent just a glimpse of the potential that technology holds for the agriculture sector. As we move forward, it is clear that the fusion of science and technology will continue to play a pivotal role in ensuring food security and promoting environmental sustainability. For a deeper dive into the latest trends and innovations in agriculture, explore the detailed reports and analyses provided by the World Economic Forum and other leading organizations in the field. Their insights offer valuable perspectives on how innovation can drive positive change in agriculture, benefiting farmers, consumers, and the planet alike.

The latest offerings from Dangwali Agribusiness Limited likely result from a focused research and development (R&D) process aimed at addressing the specific needs of the agribusiness sector. This process might involve: 1. MARKET ANALYSIS: Understanding current market trends, consumer demands, and potential gaps in the market to identify opportunities for new products or services. 2. INNOVATION: Developing and implementing new techniques or improving existing ones to increase production, reduce costs, and enhance sustainability. 3. TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION: Leveraging modern technology such as data analytics, and IoT improve efficiency and productivity. 4. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: Creating new agricultural products or services, such as improved Grains and the innovative agritech solutions, based on extensive field trials and feedback from farmers. 5. SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES: Focusing on sustainable practices to ensure long-term viability and environmental protection, including developing eco-friendly products and promoting organic farming. 6. PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS: Working with research institutions, universities, and other agribusiness companies to pool knowledge, resources, and expertise.

Frugal Innovation Frugal innovation is the process of reducing the complexity and cost of a good and its production. Core principle of frugal innovation – It is a disruptive strategy that aims to do better with less, that is to create simple but effective solutions that deliver more economic and social value while using fewer resources and polluting less, reimagining traditional models to address the specific needs of a diverse population across urban and rural areas. Notable innovations 1. Chotu Kool fridge - A tiny refrigerator sold by Indian company Godrej, the Chotu Kool may have more in common with computer cooling systems than other refrigerators; it eschews the traditional compressor for a computer fan. 2. Foldscope - Designed to cost no more than a dollar, the Foldscope is a tough origami microscope assembled from a sheet of paper and a lens. 3. Jaipur foot - A low-cost prosthetic developed in India, the Jaipur foot costs about $150 to manufacture and includes improvisations such as incorporating irrigation piping into the design to lower costs. 4. Mobile banking - Mobile banking solutions in Africa, like Safaricom's M-Pesa, allow people access to basic banking services from their mobile phones. Money transfers done through mobiles are also much cheaper than using a traditional method. 5. Nokia 1100 - Designed for developing countries, the Nokia 1100 was basic, durable, and–besides a flashlight–had few features other than voice and text. Selling more than 200 million units only four years after its 2003 introduction made it one of the best-selling phones of all time. 6. Sorghum beer - In Africa, several companies including SABMiller and Diageo, following in the footsteps of local home brewers, have made beer more affordable by using sorghum or cassava in place of malting barley and reducing packaging costs by using kegs instead of bottles. 7. Solar light bulb - In some Philippine slums, solar skylights made from one-liter soda bottles filled with water and bleach can provide light equivalent to that produced by a 55 watt bulb and may reduce electricity bills by US$10 per month. 8. Tata Nano - Designed to appeal to the many Indians who drive motorcycles, the Tata Nano was developed by Indian conglomerate Tata Group and is the cheapest car in the world. 9. Fold-Illuminator - A paper-based device designed to support biochemistry and biotechnology applications. The Fold-Illuminator incorporates a USB powered heating element to incubate chemical reactions. It also incorporates LED lights and an acrylic filter to support fluorescence visualization. 10. Lung ventilator - Swiss coffee machine manufacturer Thermoplan developed in spring 2020 a functional ventilator within four weeks on request of Starbucks. The simplified machine used 80% coffee machine components and could be mass-produced in up to 800 units per week in the company's production facility at a quarter of the cost of an original ventilator.

Indian scientists have made a breakthrough in wound care and sustainability by turning discarded banana plant stems into eco-friendly wound dressings. The banana stems, usually considered waste, are abundant in India, the world's largest banana producer. The IASST team, led by Prof. Devasish Chowdhury and Prof. (Retd) Rajlakshmi Devi, combined banana fibres with natural biopolymers to create a strong, antioxidant-rich dressing. They also added extracts from the Vitex negundo plant to fight bacteria and promote drug delivery. The best part? This innovation is beneficial for both patients and the planet. It promotes healing, reduces waste, and provides a new use for banana plants. Published in a renowned scientific journal, this research opens doors for a new era in sustainable and potentially more effective wound care. The Better India

Innovation in the agriculture sector is crucial for addressing the dual challenges of ensuring food security and reducing environmental impact. Recent advancements include the development of microbial fertilizers to decrease reliance on synthetic options, which are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the integration of IoT in agriculture allows for precise monitoring and management of crop fields, leading to more efficient use of resources. These innovations, among others, are essential for adapting to extreme weather conditions and meeting the food demands of a growing global population while minimizing the ecological footprint of agricultural practices.

SABIC has launched a new product line of certified low-carbon products, with methanol being the first, made using captured CO2 from other industrial processes. This reduces the need for traditional raw materials and helps lower the carbon emissions of the product without compromising on the quality. Other expected products from this process include Polyoxymethylene (POM), glycols, and Methyl Methacrylate (MMA). The low-carbon methanol is produced at SABIC’s joint venture sites and is commonly used in maritime fuel, laminate flooring, furniture panels, and acrylic sheets. This innovation will allow further products in the supply chain to become more sustainable where methanol is used. The new offering is a great example of how SABIC is reducing their indirect Scope 3 emissions. As SABIC is embedding the products in the supply chain, the whole supply chain gets a green makeover. https://lnkd.in/ey7kY3wx

Someone asked me the other day about the first innovation I took to market. Back in the mid-1990s, there was a push to remove toxic mercury from batteries in India. The country’s leading brand at the time approached my R&D team at ICI India Ltd - Surfactants Business with some urgency to help them address the issue. This was still the era before search engines made life easy for all, especially researchers. The ask seemed technically daunting at first - mercury was used in batteries to form an amalgam at the zinc anode which significantly reduced its corrosion rate. Once the zinc was oxidised during the battery operating cycle to the Zn++ ion, the ion diffused away from the anode to form a salt with anions present in the electrolyte. Over time, this caused the anode to thin down, eventually rupturing the casing and leaking the contents. Our clients suggested that, given the urgency, we look within our existing portfolio of chemicals for a quick-fix solution. Using the tentative hypothesis that oxygen-rich molecules such as those used in colour cosmetics and paints to improve adhesion to metals and metal oxides might do the same for zinc ions, we shortlisted a few options. To our surprise, a combination of two of our products gave excellent results. The rest is history. More than 25 years later, that product is still running - even though ICI India itself no longer exists as a corporate entity. The removal of mercury as an element in widespread use has gathered momentum on the back of international consensus: https://lnkd.in/gNEGDD9f It feels nice to think that our clients, my colleagues and I could do something for the planet and the nation long before sustainability became a buzzword.

𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞: 𝐙𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 Food waste is a significant problem in the food and dairy industry due to factors like 1. Inefficient supply chains, perishable products, and consumer behavior. 2.Packaging often contributes to waste due to excessive use and non-recyclable materials. 3. Byproducts from food production often have limited markets or require costly processing, hindering their effective utilization. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: To tackle these issues, a multifaceted approach is necessary: 1. Supply Chain Optimization: Implement advanced technologies like AI and IoT to improve demand forecasting, inventory management, and transportation efficiency. 2. Product Preservation: Invest in innovative packaging and preservation techniques to extend shelf life and reduce spoilage. 3. Consumer Education: Launch campaigns to raise awareness about food waste and promote sustainable consumption habits. 4. Packaging Innovation: Encourage the use of recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable packaging materials. 5. Byproduct Valorization: Explore new applications for food industry byproducts through research and development.