Virtual Booth

Food waste and food safety are important issues faced by consumers worldwide. Many people rely on expiry dates to determine food freshness, but factors such as storage conditions and handling can affect the actual condition of food. This can lead to the consumption of spoiled food or the unnecessary disposal of edible food. Therefore, Foodvio was developed as a colour-changing freshness indicator to provide consumers with a simple way to monitor the condition of fresh food. The sticker is designed to respond to changes associated with food spoilage, such as changes in acidity and gases produced by microorganisms. It uses a three-colour system, where green indicates freshness, yellow indicates that the food should be consumed soon, and red indicates possible spoilage. A survey and interviews were conducted to investigate consumers’ awareness of food freshness and their acceptance of Foodvio. The results showed that 44.6% of respondents sometimes throw away food because they are unsure whether it is still safe to eat. Most respondents usually check food freshness by checking the expiry date. Additionally, more than half of the respondents reported having accidentally eaten spoiled food because they did not notice it. A majority of respondents also expressed interest in using Foodvio to help reduce food waste at home, while many considered reducing food waste important in their daily lives.