Food waste is a major problem for most stores and restaurants. A lot of this waste is created by not knowing how long food has been out on the roller, shelf, or buffet line. Abid Khan, founder of Thermalog, is tackling this monstrous problem through automation. In 2019, Khan was wrapping up a closing shift at a local convenience store when he had to toss out yet another batch of food that might or might not have gone bad. This caused him to pause and think that there had to be a better way to determine whether or not food is still good for human consumption. This led to the founding of Thermalog, a company that is changing food safety for the better. “Back then, we had to manually record temperatures, and I noticed various issues with the system, such as people forgetting to log the data and having to discard large amounts of food because there was no way to know when the storage equipment failed,” Khan said in an interview. With Thermalog’s automated temperature-tracking system, this is no longer necessary.

     The system uses a computer to track food temperatures, in order to maintain food quality, safety, and to prevent food waste. On top of that, Thermalog’s system will also warn users when food integrity could be compromised by extreme temperature changes, further preventing loss. While their main focus is on food, Thermalog isn’t stopping there. With potential uses for medicine and logistical functions, the company intends to revolutionize those industries too. According to Khan, “We’re working on expanding our reach globally and developing new solutions for different industries, like healthcare and logistics.” To find out more about Thermalog, read about them on newcastle.edu.au or visit their website at thermalog.com.au.