You can order takeout or learn how to prepare a meal with the help of Amazon’s Alexa, but what about storing food or learning whether stuff in the fridge is still suitable for eating? A new skill for the voice assistant takes care of that, too.
In an effort to address the large amount of food waste in the United States, the Ad Council and Natural Resources Defense Council have launched a new phase of their Save the Food campaign and teamed with Amazon in the process.
The skill aims to educate consumers on ways that they can limit food waste at home. Alexa offers storage advice as well as tips for evaluating whether something is still safe to eat or how to revive a food item that is past its prime, according to a news release — which added sobering numbers on food that gets tossed:
In the U.S., up to 40 percent of all food goes uneaten each year, at an annual cost of $218 billion. Consumers are responsible for 43 percent of this waste — more than restaurants, grocery stores or any other single part of the supply chain. It’s a problem that costs the average family of four at least $1,500 per year.
A video created for the campaign (above) shows a man and woman discussing asparagus discovered by the man in a fridge. The woman stored the vegetable like cut flowers, in water, thanks to advice she got from Alexa. How do you tell if it’s still good?
“If it’s not moldy or slimy, it’s OK to eat,” Alexa tells the man.
Visit this link to enable the Save the Food skill.
