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Strawberries are a finicky fruit and require precise temperatures to maintain quality.
Steve Statler, a food safety expert at technology platform Wiliot's Ambient IoT, said in an interview that he had noticed in recent years that the freshness of red fruits sold in stores had declined. He had found that the best strawberries came from his own backyard or from a small roadside fruit market.
“I go to every supermarket to find decent strawberries, but they either taste like cardboard or go bad on the drive home and are mushy the next day,” Statler said.
Ambient IoT’s wireless tracking labels incorporate heat-sensing technology that transmits data via Bluetooth and 5G, allowing companies to monitor the temperature and humidity of produce. According to Statler, the labels are currently being used throughout the supply chain, including by food companies looking to leverage new supply chain technologies.
Maintaining the quality of fresh produce is difficult because of its short shelf life. The aging process of fruit begins on the farm and continues on its journey to the grocery store, and hot environments can cause it to stale quickly. Statler said this cycle can be particularly fatal for strawberries.
“They're not like bananas or oranges because they don't have that thick peel, that protective layer. They're soft by nature and prone to rotting,” Statler said.
Ambient IoT labels could help food companies and grocers track the life cycle of strawberries, he said. On Wiliot’s online platform, they could show whether the fruit was put in the freezer when it should have been in the fridge or left on the store floor.
As the food industry looks to enhance product traceability, ambient IoT labels have also been used to track the risk of foodborne illness, such as salmonella in lettuce.
According to Statler, the International Fresh Produce Association has expressed interest in the label, but the technology platform is not yet targeting food companies directly, focusing instead on grocers, who it believes are more capable of making a difference.
“They control most of the last mile to the customer,” Statler said. “Ultimately, they’re going to drive it upstream, and that’s how we get Driscoll’s on board.”
