Innovative Irish company Senoptica seeks to reduce food waste by 11 million tonnes annually, the equivalent of 240 million tonnes of CO2

Senoptica Technologies, a sensor technology and analytics company has today announced approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Agency (FDA) in the United States to help revolutionise the food industry and decrease waste. Senoptica’s patented sensor technology monitors the oxygen in modified atmosphere (MAP) food packaging enabling food manufacturers to identify failed packaging before it reaches retailers shelves. The company aims to expand its application for retailers to extend the shelf life of fresh packaged food by up to 40 percent, reducing vast volumes of spoiled goods.

On the back of approval, the company which is based in Ireland is set to expand retail trials of its technology across the United States. Senoptica’s revolutionary solution uses optical sensors created by their patented food-safe ink which is printed inside packaging. This reads the level of oxygen inside the food packaging, offering a real-time analysis of the condition of goods inside predicting spoilage before it happens. For manufacturers it means defective packs of food can immediately be returned to and repacked, saving time and money across the entire food value chain. It also means savings in terms of time and money for retailers and consumers, with best before dates becoming a thing of the past.

Global food waste continues to be a huge problem worldwide. According to figures from The World Counts, roughly one third (1.3 billion tons) of food is wasted per year. In addition, figures from the ReFed, a US national non-profit, show that 91 million tonnes of food waste occurs each year in the US. Food waste is a significant contributor to climate change, with food loss and waste contributing to 8-10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations.

Following its FDA approval and, in line with its plans for US expansion, Senoptica hopes to reduce food waste by 11 million tonnes annually, the equivalent of 240 million tonnes of CO2. The company was founded in 2018 by Brendan Rice, Dr Steve Comby and Dr Rachel Evans.

Speaking about the significance of the FDA approval CEO of Senoptica Technologies, Brendan Rice said:

“We are delighted to secure FDA approval to position for expansion into the US market. Senoptica is on a mission to use deeptech to increase food supply chain reliability with a view of mitigating food waste in the long term with manufacturers and retail partners. Our technology currently improves the probability of finding failed packs by up to 11,000 times compared to today’s industry standard. With our unique solution, we hope to revolutionise the food supply chain,through helping all in the food supply chain become smarter about food spoilage.”