FreshTrack: Enhancing Household Food Safety with RFID-Enabled Food Expiry Monitoring System
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32871/rmrj2513.02.04Keywords:
Arduino Nano, electronic food labels, food expiry monitoring, food waste reduction, household food safety, IoT-based monitoring, perishable inventory management, real-time food tracking, RFID technology, smart packaging, zero hungerAbstract
Background: Food labels provide essential information such as nutritional content and expiration dates, which are critical for ensuring food safety. However, studies reveal that many consumers neglect to check use-by dates, contributing to foodborne illnesses linked to expired products. Expired food, along with microbial and chemical contamination, adulteration, and mislabeling, remains a major public health concern. This study presents FreshTrack, an RFID-enabled food expiry monitoring system designed for household use.
Methods: FreshTrack adapts the RFID-based tracking approach used in commercial settings like grocery stores but emphasizes portability and user-friendliness for home environments. The system uses RFID tags affixed to food items and a reader positioned near a refrigerator to detect and alert users when an item is approaching its expiration. Thirty RFID tags were used to evaluate the system’s performance.
Results: FreshTrack demonstrated 100% accuracy in identifying food status, with an average response time of 160 milliseconds. It consistently provided timely alerts, offering a practical and reliable solution for household food monitoring.
Conclusion: Planned enhancements include mobile integration for real-time alerts, barcode scanning, and synchronization with digital shopping lists. FreshTrack supports food safety at home and contributes to reducing unnecessary food waste.
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