Fermentation in food waste using computer vision: influence of food type, temperature and time

Fermentation is an anaerobic metabolic process carried out by microorganisms, with greater relevance in food production and preservation. In waste management contexts, it is directly related to odour generation and cross contamination. This study analyses the relationship between food type, temperature, humidity and time on the onset of fermentation in mixed waste containers, within the scope of the Vision2Waste project. Based on a literature review and simplified mathematical models, a decision support system is proposed, integrating environmental sensors and automatic visual classification of waste to estimate fermentation rate and odour probability. Results indicate that temperature and waste composition are the main drivers of accelerated fermentation and contamination risk, supporting the optimisation of collection strategies and the reduction of environmental and operational impacts.