AI in Smart Food Storage and Cold Chain Control

Globally, food losses due to inadequate storage and inefficient cold chain management remain a critical challenge, particularly in developing and emerging economies. At the same time, rising consumer demand for quality, safety, and traceability, alongside climate pressures and energy constraints has intensified the need for intelligent, adaptive, and data-driven solutions. Artificial intelligence (AI) has thus emerged as a transformative force capable of redefining how food is stored, preserved, and transported across complex supply networks. AI in Smart Food Storage and Cold Chain Control provides a timely and essential resource for researchers and professionals on the mechanisms, uses and accompanying regulatory challenges of AI technology in the food system. Cutting-edge technological disruptions involving AI, such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), and hybrid AI-IoT systems will be given special focus, as these technologies are increasingly being deployed to upscale, optimize, and modernize food storage systems and cold chain operations. AI offers powerful tools for minimizing spoilage, extending shelf life, improving quality assessment, optimizing energy use, and enhancing logistics efficiency by enabling predictive analytics, autonomous decision-making, and intelligent control. The book captures how these methods are reshaping both traditional and emerging cold chain infrastructures, from farm-level storage to global distribution systems. Rather than present a purely technical approach, the book dissects AI-enabled cold chains as socio-technical systems embedded in markets, institutions, and communities. Food industry professionals will find an in-depth discussion of adoption barriers, economic feasibility, workforce transformation, governance, ethical AI, and climate resilience. AI in Smart Food Storage and Cold Chain Control offers conscientious reference for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and advanced students seeking to understand, design, and responsibly deploy AI solutions for smarter, more resilient, and more sustainable food storage and cold chain systems. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction to Smart Food Storage and Cold Chains.- Artificial intelligence in global food crisis.- Food storage systems and cold chains.- Traditional storage versus smart storage systems of food and food products .- AI and big data in food storage systems.- AI innovations in food storage.- Artificial intelligence application in shelf life prediction and modelling.- AI Based Food spoilage detection.- Recent avenues of AI role in smart and intelligent food packaging.- AI in pest control management and pesticide detection.- AI integrated cold powered systems.- Applications of AI in cold chain supply.- AI in food Cold chain Logistics and management.- Food preservation processing and marketing through AI.- AI Adoption Frameworks and Technology Diffusion in Cold Chain Systems.- Economics of AI Enabled Cold Chain Cost Benefit Accessibility and Value Creation.- Inclusive Cold Chain Development Social Equity Labor and Skill Transformation.- Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability in AI Driven Cold Chain Systems.- Consumer Trust Food Safety Standards and Ethical AI in Dietary Value Chains.- Human AI Collaboration and Decision Support in Cold Chain Operations.- Community Centered Cold Chain Innovation Case Studies from Low Resource Settings.- Future Research directions and Emerging trends. Autorenportrait Dr. Sesan Abiodun Aransiola is an accomplished environmental microbiologist, academic leader, and postdoctoral research fellow whose work sits at the critical intersection of microbial biotechnology, waste management, and artificial intelligence. Currently serving as a Lecturer in the Department of Microbiology at both the University of Abuja, Nigeria, Dr. Aransiola has built a distinguished career defined by innovative solutions for soil and water remediation, sustainable agriculture, and the bioremediation of pollutants. Dr. Aransiola earned his Bachelor of Technology (BTech), Master of Technology (MTech), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Environmental Microbiology from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria. His doctoral training laid the foundation for a research agenda focused on leveraging biological systems to address environmental degradation. He has since demonstrated particular expertise in the production of vermicasts through the vermicomposting of organic waste, a technique he has harnessed to assist plants in the phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils. His broader research portfolio spans environmental health, marine resources, and the bioremediation of diverse pollutants, consistently emphasizing practical, ecologically sound interventions. In a significant advancement of his research trajectory, Dr. Aransiola was awarded a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Multidisciplinary Innovation Studies at the University of South Africa (UNISA). There, he is engaged in cutting-edge research applying artificial intelligence to environmental monitoring and remediation, positioning him at the forefront of AI-driven sustainability science. Before his academic appointment, Dr. Aransiola rose to the rank of Assistant Chief Scientific Officer at the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NABDA) in Nigeria, where he pioneered the use of vinasse a by-product of ethanol production as a biofertilizer for reclaiming polluted agricultural soils. This industry-to-academia transition enriched his teaching and mentoring philosophy, which emphasizes real-world problem-solving. He has supervised numerous undergraduate and postgraduate students and remains actively involved in community service, translating research into local sustainability practices. Dr. Aransiola's scholarly output is exceptional. He has authored or co-authored over 200 publications, including peer-reviewed research articles, review papers, and book chapters in journals of high international repute and impact. He has also co-edited more than 30 scientific books with globally recognized publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, Wiley, CRC Press (Taylor & Francis), and Oxford University Press. His editorial leadership includes serving as a review editor and guest editor for two special issues: one with Elsevier's Research in Microbiology on biofilms community structure, applications, and mitigation and another with Frontiers on the effects of microplastics on soil ecosystems. His contributions have earned multiple institutional research grants through TETFund and several awards of excellence. Notably, SciVal has listed him among the Top 500 authors by scholarly output in Nigeria for the period 2022-2026. Dr. Aransiola is an active member of the Nigerian Society for Microbiology, the Association of Environmental Impact Assessment of Nigeria (affiliated with the International Association for Impact Assessment), and the American Society for Microbiology. Through his research, teaching, and service, Dr. Aransiola continues to drive meaningful changes at the nexus of microbiology, environmental science, and emerging technologies. Dr. Cynthia Ihotu Danboyi is a Veterinary Doctor and emerging biomedical researcher based in Abuja, Nigeria, with a research focus spanning infectious diseases, genomics, immunology