Reducing tomato waste for a greener, tastier tomorrow

Reducing Tomato Waste for a Greener, Tastier Tomorrow

For one of the most popular crops in the EU and the globe, tomatoes, the amount that goes to waste is estimated to be around 3 million tons annually in the EU alone. Through the development of a system for precise tomato yield monitoring and ripeness estimation, we are working to lower that amount in the ZeroW project.

18 months into the project, the partners of Living Lab 3 have successfully finalised object detection and categorization AI models.

Significant progress was made in detecting the “substandard” category of tomatoes which will help growers save valuable resources and picking tomatoes at an early stage instead of continuing to grow them.

The weight prediction model is currently being developed. When combined with the tomato ripeness category, this model holds immense potential. Why? Because it will enable us to predict tomato yields a week ahead!

This is significant for three reasons. Firstly, because it opens a possibility to provide supermarkets with more accurate information about planned deliveries. Secondly, this means fresher, tastier tomatoes can be served without the need for extensive warehousing. And thirdly, because it shortens the time between tomato picking and supermarket shelf placement which translates to improved food quality.

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