LED Food Storage System

Aiming to help consumers reduce their food waste, Chicago-based start-up Ovie has developed LED tags that allow individuals to track how long food items have been in their fridge.

To activate the tags, which can be affixed to food items via a specially created strap, clip or storage container, users press a button on the device and tell Amazon Alexa what type of food they're storing.

An LED light on the tag then keeps users informed about how long the food has been in the fridge, with a green light indicating that the food is still good to eat, yellow meaning 'eat soon', and red showing that the food should no longer be consumed.

The storage system also comes with a corresponding app that lists foods currently being stored, as well as their levels of freshness. It can then make suggestions for food pairings based on this inventory – for example, 'lasagne and green beans'.

The company is also exploring partnership options with recipe apps, hoping to create a service that will suggest recipes based on fridge contents and then automatically order additional ingredients for home delivery.

The brand is launching a Kickstarter campaign at the end of February 2018 to fund the project. Three tags will retail for around $59, while three containers will cost $89.

See Self-Sustaining Spaces, part of our Kitchen of the Future Industry Trend, for more on limiting household waste.

For earlier developments in food classification, see New Directions in Food Labelling.