Emirates Flight Catering has partnered with technology provider Winnow in a new commitment to reduce food wastage across its Dubai operations by over a third.
The group provides in-flight catering to over 100 airlines at Dubai International Airport, and will now use Winnow’s Artificial Intelligence technology to reduce wastage by 35 per cent.
The Winnow Vision AI technology uses intelligent cameras, smart scales and meters to analyse ingredients used during food preparation, to assess which food items are most wasted and in what quantities.
At peak times Emirates Flight Catering prepares up to 225,000 meals per day, and the group said it had been “working closely with many of its airline customers to analyse consumption trends and use predictive data to optimise the loading of F&B for in-flight catering”.
Last year Business Traveller reported on Intercontinental Hotel Group’s adoption of Winnow’s technology at selected properties, with a similar aim of reducing food waste by 30 per cent.
Commenting on the news Saeed Mohammed, CEO of Emirates Flight Catering, said: “We are dedicated to investing in the latest technologies to optimise our operations and minimise our environmental footprint. Food waste management has always been an area of focus for EKFC and we have already achieved remarkable results through improved data collection and reporting.”
“Implementing new ways of working, supported by technology will help us step up to the next level and further enhance operational efficiency. We look forward to delivering on our ambitious goal of reducing food waste by more than one-third across our central operations,” he added.
Rival Gulf carrier Etihad Airways recently partnered with Singapore food technology startup Lumitics to trial the use of computer vision and machine learning in order to reduce in-flight food wastage.
