Latin America and the Caribbean waste each year 15% of its production of foods. This problem has been the motivation for the development of technologies, including artificial intelligencewhich reduce the loss of foods.
One of these has been employed for a year in several Hotels of the chain Iberostar in the Dominican Republic: the Winnow system, which, according to what the company explained, has allowed savings of around 200,000 meals in 12 months in one of his Hotels.
“It is a tool through which Iberostar seek not to throw foodsin addition to controlling and giving more quality, reducing production”, Ángel Arroyo, regional chef of the chain in the Dominican Republic, explained to journalists.
Arroyo argued that the system uses a balance “where what comes back from the customers’ food dishes goes (which is categorized as foods that cannot be recycled), is thrown away and artificial intelligence he takes photos, then they take out what kind of waste it is; We can see if the portion is too large, if there is too much left over from a cut, or detect quality flaws.”
“At the end of the day (the system) sends an email with the photos of what has been thrown away and differences with previous days or weeks,” added the chef, who indicated that the information sent to the chain covers breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We choose the clients that are there and (the system) gives us a proportion of the amount that we have thrown away, so the next day we can adjust production, producing less quantity and managing to eliminate as much waste as possible,” he explained.
Revaluation
The regional chef of Iberostar indicated that the London tool also works with the reuse of foods. “That is, there are things like bacon that I am not going to throw away because it is very expensive, it has been exposed, so we cool it, chop it finely and we can use it in a Caesar salad. But I indicate (to the system) that I have made a reuse with so much bacon, so that it shows that I have produced more, ”he added.
Arroyo said that the company that develops the system sends three reports: one daily, specifically at dawn, which is used so that the head chef can make adjustments, in case food waste is detected, prior to the purchase of the products. to be used during the day.
The other report is weekly “where it compares you one week against the other to tell you “be careful, here there is a lot left over and here less”. The last one is monthly, it involves a virtual meeting with the Winnow developers to determine what aspects to improve during the production of foods.
Currently, the chain has the system installed in seven Hotels Bavaro and Coral Level. It is expected that by the end of the year they will acquire another 20 pieces of equipment for the rest of their complexes in the country. When asked about the investment of the tool, Arroyo reported that the equipment is rented and that the cost can be around 200 or 400 dollars.
Arroyo indicated that with different strategies and understanding that the variety must follow, they will be able to achieve the objective of avoiding reducing the loss of foods in their Hotels.
The chain also reported that it seeks to reduce its carbon emissions to zero by 2030. The initiative is part of its sustainability policies, said Gloria Fluxá, vice president and Chief Sustainability Officer of the multinational.
The Majorcan hotel group has presented its roadmap towards decarbonisation, within the framework of the COP27which takes place in Egypt.
15% in the trash
Chef Ángel Arroyo stated that it has been determined that about 15% of the foods that are presented in the “all inclusive” reservation variety are often wasted.
“We, when we started, we were at 15%, now we are close to 10%. We are trying to go even lower, we understand that we may have 10 or 12 months left to reach a limit without affecting quality or the customer”. The chain hopes to achieve a 5% waste reduction.
“The system is a big challenge because we are in an all-inclusive culture where the buffet must be opulent, it must have 200 varieties,” explained the chef.
