A Fruit Scanner That Can Tell You If Your Avocado Is Ripe Or Not 

At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Tuesday, food tech startup One Third unveiled a fruit scanner that can determine the ripeness of foods.

“The astronomical volume of food that goes to waste each year is heartbreaking, particularly since so much is wasted in affluent countries. We’ve worked hard to create technology that helps to address this persistent, global challenge which directly impacts food scarcity,” said Marco Snikkers, CEO and founder of OneThird.

“We are proud to have built the first product that accurately and objectively predicts the shelf life of fresh produce. The interest has been overwhelming and we aim to accelerate the deployment of our technology globally”.

Using proprietary algorithms to interpret signals from a near-infrared laser, OneThird devices can determine the expiration date of an avocado, for example, in real time. The company will release two versions of the system, one for consumers and one for manufacturers.

The company claims that up to 40% of the perishables brought to market every year end up being thrown away before they reach kitchen tables. The current generation of food scanners can only report sugar content or acidity, not freshness or potential shelf life. But OneThird freshness scanners can do just that. And, according to the manufacturer, they can reduce food waste by an average of 25 percent.