by Will Corns

PLUS, MY GUESTS DISH ON WHAT QUICK SERVE RESTAURANT OWNERS ARE DOING IN THE KITCHEN – AND IN THEIR SUPPLY CHAINS – TO SHOW FOOD LOVERS LIKE YOU AND I THAT WE CAN TRUST THE QUALITY AND SAFETY OF OUR DINE-IN AND TAKE-OUT MEALS.

Did you know up to 40% of the U.S food supply is wasted each year? That not-so-fun fact was shared by my colleague and food technology expert Amanda Wade on the latest episode of Industrial Automation Insider as we were talking about why automation-based technology projects were heating up in the food and beverage industry.  

Of course, I had to do a little more research into this profound statistic and what I learned was even more jaw-dropping: wasting 40% of the total U.S. food supply is like “every person in America throwing more than 650 average-sized apples right into the garbage.” I can’t imagine throwing away that many apples. I don’t even know if I’ve eaten that many apples in my lifetime yet. Have you? That’s a lot of apples. 

What’s worse is that restaurants, grocery stores and food service providers account for 40% of that wasted food.  We have got to figure out how to stop this cycle, especially if it’s perpetuated by food spoilage, contamination or mismanagement throughout the supply chain. Read more >