New chilled storage standards through consumer fridge monitoring

Consumer fridge behaviour and waste reduction of red meat

The project will focus on red meat and aims to monitor hundreds of fridges across Australia. The monitoring of fridges will be measured by IoT devices in different sections of the fridge. Interviews accompanying the survey will be used to generate qualitative data to complement and interpret the fridge monitoring data.

New baseline temperature data generated will be applicable to all commodities which require chilled storage (including milk, salad, and fruits). The data can be used for setting new standards for food storage (including extending or shortening best-before dates) and provide insights for industry on consumers. These insights will assist in addressing the issues of waste with a holistic fridge/freezer, packaging, and consumer information/ education focussed project for meat.

Phase 2 of the project aims to develop easy-to-understand and effective interventions/ alternatives to engage consumers to enable them to reduce meat waste with chilled storage.