Digital standards urgently needed to modernize the food supply chain

TOMRA Food is forming cross-industry working groups to accelerate development of digital standards for the Food industry, with the first meetings to be held in Q4, 2018.“Thousands of TOMRA Food sorters around the world are generating valuable data that has the power to optimize every part of the food supply chain,” says Mike Riley, Head of TOMRA Food. “This is in addition to data from millions of other devices and applications also in use, from harvest to distribution to consumer purchase.”“We want to work across the industry to integrate this data through digital standards that lead to continuous improvements, from precision farming to trading to retail marketing of fresh and processed food products.“It’s vital we take the lessons, experience and technology from other industries that can be applied to the food supply chain. This industry collaboration will drive efficiency, productivity, waste reduction, and transparency for everyone from farmer-growers to processors to end consumers.As a starting point, working groups will be launched to address the following topics:1. Precision agriculture – using sorting data to inform future farming practices2. Packhouse operations – optimizing yield, throughput, and up-time through machine data3. Distribution – reducing waste through alignment of packaging and transport4. Retail – integrating production data with last mile fulfillment practices.Following Fruit Logistica, TOMRA will announce more details regarding the working groups, and welcome expressions of interest from across the industry.About TOMRA Sorting FoodTOMRA Sorting Food designs and manufactures sensor-based sorting machines for the food industry. Over 6,250 systems are installed at food growers, packers and processers worldwide.The company provides high-performance optical sorters, graders, peeling and process analytics systems for nuts, grains and seeds, dried fruit, potato products, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, meat and seafood. The systems ensure an optimal quality and yield, resulting in increased productivity, throughput and an effective use of resources.TOMRA Sorting Food is part of TOMRA Sorting Solutions which also develops sensor-based systems for the recycling, mining and other industries.This powerful combination of technologies makes TOMRA Sorting one of the most advanced providers of sensor-based sorting solutions in the world, with over 11,300 of its systems installed globally.TOMRA Sorting is owned by Norwegian company TOMRA Systems ASA, which is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Founded in 1972, TOMRA Systems ASA has a turnover around €710m (2016) and employs over 3,500 people.For more information on TOMRA Sorting Food visit www.tomra.com/foodAbout CompacCompac provides integrated post-harvest solutions and services to the global fresh produce industry using the world’s most advanced grading technology. Combining industry leading solutions with award-winning grading platforms like Spectrim, the company’s mission is to enable its customers to improve returns, gain operational efficiencies, and ensure a safe food supply via smart, usable technologies. To achieve this, Compac operates centers of excellence, regional offices and manufacturing locations within the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia.For further information about Compac, please see www.compacsort.com.