Getting Food on Our Tables From the U.S. and Around the World, Safely and Less Wastefully

Infographic shows data from farms, factories, ports, grocery stores and labs being sent to an app on a tablet.

By Nenad Ivezic, leader of the Process Engineering Group in the Systems Integration Division of the NIST Engineering Laboratory

I’m still amazed to see strawberries, avocados and watermelons in my grocery store out of their “normal” season. As amazing as this is, I know it means that my food is arriving from far-flung destinations and may be subjected to poor conditions or handling along the way. So, now, even more so than before, I regularly check where the fresh fruit or produce is hauled in from. Instinctively, I try to remember any recent news of recalls due to foodborne illness. Did I hear about any recalls or hospitalizations lately?

Yes, grocery shopping does give me pause these days.

A recent study found that “addressing drivers of food waste can slash the value of food lost and wasted every year globally by nearly $700 billion.” Clearly, moving food from farm to table nowadays is not without challenges, to say the least. Yet, there are some outstanding developments that are starting to help address these safety and waste issues.