Using digital twins of citrus fruits and temperature data from cargo ships, researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) aim to reduce food waste. The method determines the ideal transport conditions so that as little fruit as possible ends up in the container.
Wasted food is responsible for at least 8 percent of global man-made greenhouse gas emissions, 30 percent of agricultural land use and 20 percent of freshwater use. These numbers show that action needs to be taken.
In a study published Thursday in the journal “Nature Food”, the Empa researchers led by Thijs Defraeye, along with colleagues from the South African University of Stellenbosch, present a way to reduce food waste along production and supply chains in the reduce in the future.
Digital Fruit Avatars
To do this, they developed a digital twin of citrus fruits to find out when, why and to what extent the quality of the fruit suffers. They then fed the “avatars” with existing data from temperature sensors on 47 freighters to determine the condition of the fruit over time.
Result: Half of the deliveries fell outside the ideal compromise range between maintaining quality, killing fruit fly larvae and preventing cold damage. At the end of the 30-day trip, some of the remaining citrus fruits in the household could only be stored for a few days, according to Empa.
Temperature data not yet used
In order to maintain the quality of fresh fruit, it is necessary to maintain a very narrow window of temperature conditions, according to the researchers. They hope that one day companies will be able to integrate the virtual fruits into their processes. Until then, further developments are needed, but the temperature data is in any case already available.
“Every container in the world is now equipped with one or more temperature sensors,” says Defraeye. Until now, the measured values have simply remained unused.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
