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.

Jake Cohen is a young entrepreneur cook from New York City who has gotten his way on New York’s best-selling book, “Jew-ish.” His first cookbook has a bunch of recipes consisting of unique Jewish dishes. For example, a couple of his Jewish dishes are called rainbow sprinkle babka and challah. Other foods that he makes are Macaroon Brownies, pumpkin Spice Babka, and roasted tomato brisket with many more delicious recipes in his cookbook   Jake knew that the current Jewish cooking market was boring and bland and knew that so much more could be made out of these delicious Jewish customary foods.  Jake Cohen has found a unique niche where there wasn’t much exciting entrepreneurial activity due to a lot of dormancy in this particular market so he decided to take advantage of this opportunity and has successfully marketed his ideas through social media and made appearances on some popular TV shows to become a successful cook influencer online. After publishing his first cookbook, he went on popular TV shows like Good Morning America, Live with Kelly and Ryan, and the Food Network. There are also a lot of articles written about him in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. Through TikTok and Instagram, he has made short videos on some of his recipes, which have reached over two million people. His food is so good that even Britney Spears said, “the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” and said, “It’s inspired me to take on a new passion in the cooking field!” Jake reconciles an ancient traditions with our modern times, his recipes become a celebration of a colorful and vibrant Jewish history. He managed to combine Jewish food traditions with more modern American plates to appeal to his customers.