The Middle East's F&B industry is planning to go hi tech with advanced technology to reduce food waste in the region. Recently some experts in the industry have said that food waste can be tackled only by disrupting traditional working practices. The suggestions were given by Michael Ellis, Chief Culinary Officer of Jumeirah Group, and Michael Barsties, Head of Food Waste Heroes Programme pioneering the Olio mobile app for food-sharing.

Ellis believes in improvements through the 'smart' kitchen by reducing the amount of repetitive manual labor that goes into food making and by reducing food waste. These innovations are expected by developments in kitchen equipment and data mining techniques to allow chefs to plan the requirements of each dish. Food tech is considered important in inventory control, HAACP implementation, ordering etc.

Barsties believes in the Internet of Things (IoT) shaping future commercial and private kitchens. He made interesting observations that a total disruption soon with Artificial Intelligence and IoT impacting in the kitchens of the future. He says we will have data on what we are wasting and informing better shopping practices by saying how much was wasted in earlier periods. The fridge may say what to eat based on the expiry dates of the food stored in it.

A recent report from a firm Danfoss estimated that 40 per cent of the UAE's total waste is from food. Similarly in Saudi Arabia food worth US Dollars 13.3 billion gets wasted every year. In the UAE, Dubai plans to be the first city in the region to achieve zero food waste through the UAE Food Bank.