How high-tech can make food taste better

Within five years, the food production chain -- from farm to factory to transport, storage, the table and waste disposal -- will go smart as technology steps in.

Zeng Jianbiao, vice president of IBM, said too much food is wasted and the whole supply chain will change, catering to taste and reducing waste.

The United States wastes nearly 150,000 tons of food a year. Advanced technologies can change that.

“Big data analysis can anticipate all needs, such as quality and taste, to reduce waste,” Zeng said at the Zhangjiang International Artificial Intelligence Summit in the Pudong New Area last week.

Today, trendsetters like to visit newly-opened “Internet celebrity” cafes and restaurants, with chic decor and fancy food, and post pictures on their WeChat Moments.

What if we take a picture of what we eat and we are immediately told where it comes from, what its food inspection report says, and how it should be cooked?

“Every food has specific spectrum and we can install sensors to track the whole process," Zeng said.

"And if we link it with a smartphone's camera, we can get to know what we eat is safe and healthy."

In January, IBM's Shanghai headquarters and research and development facility officially opened at the Zhangjiang Artificial Intelligence Island, which covers 100,000 square meters in the core of the Zhangjiang Science City.

The island has attracted many leading companies to set up innovation centers and labs, including Microsoft Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things Laboratory and the Alibaba Shanghai Innovation Center.

The island is set to officially open to the public as the country’s first “5G+AI” park in August, said Guan Xiaojun, deputy director of Pudong.

“We will work to become a global AI development heartland,” he told the summit.

“Pudong has gathered highly-competitive companies in the fields of chip-making, brain-like intelligence and machine learning, which forms a solid foundation for us to develop AI.”

Yuan Tao, CEO of the Zhangjiang Group, said the island will be a gathering place for the world’s top AI companies and a major real-life experience site for AI applications.

It will be an unmanned island, meaning everything will be automatic, using advanced technologies including AI, big data, cloud computing, blockchain and other digital tools, he said.

Guan said Zhangjiang will also play a role to connect multinational companies, international labs, research institutes, investors and other resources to form a good ecosystem for AI development in the Yangtze River Delta.

An AI Innovation Ecosystem Alliance has been formed in Zhangjiang, with members including Digital China, BASF SE and Dow.