NEW ZEALAND | Winnow's latest food waste technology is designed to reduce the manual work of monitoring what commercial kitchens discard, using artificial intelligence to identify and record food waste as it happens.
Its Vision Gen 5 system combines a camera, connected scales, and AI recognition technology to give kitchen teams information on what they throw away, in what quantities, and at what cost.
For aged care providers, the development raises an interesting commercial question. Could more accurate, continuous monitoring help kitchens make better purchasing and production decisions without adding to staff workloads?
The technology is available in New Zealand, with Winnow's Singapore-based Asia-Pacific team managing sales, onboarding, and ongoing support. Installation involves positioning a camera and connected scale above an existing kitchen waste bin, rather than requiring a complete change to kitchen operations.
Winnow calls the process Throw & Go® because staff do not need to stop and manually record each item. The company said its AI had been trained on more than one billion images of food waste and achieved 80 percent data accuracy.
While the technology may sound better suited to large hotel or hospital kitchens, Winnow confirmed that smaller aged care facilities could also use its systems.
Rather than investing in a full camera and scale installation, smaller kitchens can choose software- or mobile-based options, where staff record waste on a tablet or other device.
This distinction matters for New Zealand's aged care sector, where kitchens vary considerably in size, meal volumes, and staffing arrangements. A smaller retirement village preparing meals for a limited number of residents is unlikely to need the same equipment as a major healthcare catering operation.
Kitchen staff receive remote coaching, and Winnow reviews waste data to help teams identify practical changes. For operators with several villages, Winnow's Hub platform lets them compare waste results across locations, potentially highlighting differences in production, purchasing, and menu planning.
The company does not yet have a publicly available New Zealand case study, but its experience in healthcare and contract catering suggests what the technology can achieve.
At Salem Health in Oregon, USA, food waste costs reportedly fell by 33 percent, with the system paying for itself within 17 weeks. Changes to how salmon was used also reduced waste of that ingredient by 65 percent.
US contract caterer Guckenheimer, part of ISS, reported a 64 percent reduction in food waste, exceeding its original target of 50 percent. Winnow said its customers typically achieved food cost savings of two to 10 times its fees.
For aged care operators, another consideration goes beyond the savings. A resident who regularly leaves vegetables, protein, or part of a meal untouched may be telling the kitchen something that is not being captured through conventional waste reporting.
Technology cannot explain every reason food goes uneaten, and reducing portion sizes isn't always the right response. However, better information could support conversations between catering teams, dietitians, and care staff about what residents actually enjoy and consume.
The opportunity is to use food waste data to inform kitchen decisions, while ensuring that any changes to meal production continue to meet residents' nutritional requirements.
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