The UK's first 'artificial nose' capable of sniffing out when food in your fridge is about to go off has been created.

Newcastle University says the high-tech 'nose' could help slash household waste by detecting when grub has really expired.

The device uses a sensor-enabled system fitted inside a fridge to detect environmental changes in food. 

This sends an alert to an app as food approaches its due date, ensuring it is eaten before it spoils.

Academics say the unit has been checked and tested across a range of food types including fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy.

Dr Oktay Cetinkaya, a lecturer in sensor systems at the university, said: 'One of the major goals is to provide users with statistics on how much they purchase and waste – with its economical and environmental impact – thereby encouraging a behavioural change, which is key to waste less in principle.'

He said: 'The system functions as an "artificial nose" by combining multiple sensor signals to detect early signs of spoilage, including odours that can't be seen.'

'The key advantage of the Waste-Not! app is its ability to fuse low-cost sensor data into an objective measure of freshness. 

'This supports more informed decisions, improving both safety and effectiveness. 

'In contrast, existing approaches rely heavily on expiry dates, user judgement, or passive sensors that provide only limited air-quality information.'

The Waste-Not! 'nose' measures temperature, relative humidity and gases emitted at varying stages of food spoilage before uploading the details to a database.   

The results are compared to a fridge inventory so that the device can detect mouldy food.

Dr Cetinkaya added that unlike existing apps, Waste-Not! integrates 'sensor-informed objective freshness' into decision-making.

According to the Waste and Resources Action Programme, 10.7million tonnes offood was wasted in 2021. 

Edible food waste from households was valued at £17billion.