DEVELOPING AN IOT-BASED MOBILE APPLICATION TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE IN CATERED-FACILITIES

Abstract

Food waste and loss are an important global issue owning to the fact that one third of the food produced for human consumption is wasted before it reaches the plates. This rapid increase in the food wastage is considered as a threat to the food security, environment, sustainable development as well as the economy. This paper identifies the use of mobile technology to reduce the food waste by developing an android and ISO mobile application. The goal of the application is to design and implement a user-friendly system for students that allows them to order meals at the restaurant in university dining halls where this application will allow the restaurant staff to know how many students are going to eat in the restaurant before preparing the meals. The process of developing the application is divided into four main stages: UML modelling, designing, development phase, and testing. This paper further studies the behaviour of the students with a survey to measure the impact of the proposed application on the reduction of the food waste. The study found that the proposed application affects the food waste percentage positively.