A new standard for food safety and quality

Project Information

ImpactVision

Grant agreement ID: 836886

DOI

10.3030/836886

Project closed

EC signature date 21 December 2018

Start date 1 January 2019

End date 30 June 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

IMPACTVISION UK LTD
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ImpactVision (A new standard for food safety and quality)

Reporting period: 2019-01-01 to 2019-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Almost half of all fruit and vegetables produced are wasted; that’s the equivalent of 7 million apples and 2 million bags of potatoes every single second. Food supply chains are mechanised, but not information-enabled. ImpactVision was founded with an awareness of the stark challenges facing the global food system today —food waste, food fraud, inefficiency— and the knowledge of advancements in technology that could make an impact.

Using hyperspectral imaging and machine learning, ImpactVision helps food companies learn about the quality of their food products such as freshness of fish, dry matter of avocados or presence of foreign objects non-invasively and in real-time. This in turns leads to more effective decision-making that increases efficiency while reducing waste.

Our goal is to build ImpactVision into a global reference for quality in food supply chains, with the largest spectral database that translates hyperspectral images into insights on food quality. We are focused on developing hardware-agnostic software, which will allow us to integrate with any hyperspectral camera, including a smartphone sensor, and be deployed at scale.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During Phase 1, we have undertaken a feasibility study: to develop an international business plan, initially assessing our market expansion into Europe.

We have analyzed our technical, commercial, and operational feasibility.

Our primary activities included conducting a pilot for foreign object detection for a UK-headquartered company and undertaking activities to analyze the market: digital marketing, attending industry events, and outreach.

In speaking with European food companies, we verified interest in our solution and understand that key benefits to them include: (a) lowering risk of product recalls; (b) reduced waste and cost due to more efficient sorting, and (c) improving consistency of product and therefore customer satisfaction. Market outreach in Europe has also validated our hypothesis of the long sales cycle within the industry. The food industry is reticent to new technologies, so adoption will require education. Catalysts to adoption include building strategic alliances with influencers in the food industry such as retailers and food standards bodies. We have established relationships with a number of these strategic stakeholders during phase 1.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

In speaking with European food companies, we verified interest in our solution and understand that key benefits to them include:
(a) lowering risk of product recalls;
(b) reduced waste and cost due to more efficient sorting, and
(c) improving consistency of product and therefore customer satisfaction. Market outreach in Europe has also validated our hypothesis of the long sales cycle within the industry.

The food industry is reticent to new technologies, so adoption will require education. Catalysts to adoption include building strategic alliances with influencers in the food industry such as retailers and food standards bodies. We have established relationships with a number of these strategic stakeholders during phase 1.

Given the positive traction we have seen on both market and product development during phase 1, we will continue to pursue the project in line with our goals.

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