Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn is leading the charge in reducing food waste by using artificial intelligence (AI) technology in its strawberry chain. The technology is used to determine the shelf life of each crop, allowing for an estimated 70,000 kilos fewer of fruit to be wasted annually. This is a significant step towards the supermarket chain’s goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030 compared to 2015.
AI technology being used in the strawberry chain helps to accurately predict shelf life, allowing optimal efficiency within the process. The technology is used by Albert Heijn’s Better for Nature & Farmer strawberry growers, who are able to use a scanner to determine shelf life instead of having to assign a standard shelf life code. This can prevent food from being wasted due to the varying qualities of the cropping, depending on weather, etc.
Along with this, Albert Heijn is taking further steps in order to prevent food waste, such as selling ‘AH Overblijverspakketten’. This initiative offers packages that are left over at the end of the day and customers can purchase them as a package in order to help prevent 4.5 million kilos of food waste every year. Additionally, all stores have dynamic markdowns, where an algorithm automatically calculates the best discounts in order to avoid ending up with unsellable products.
Albert Heijn is a major Dutch supermarket chain, operating across the country. They are committed to supplying shoppers with the highest quality products while also concentrating their efforts in tackling food waste and its environmental impact. With concrete initiatives and technological advancement, Albert Heijn are taking real and meaningful steps to address food wastage in Dutch supermarkets.
