Pisay students bag award for 'info magnets' that show freshness of refrigerated food

A group of students from the Philippine Science High School Main Campus were recognized in Singapore for developing a device that indicates the freshness of food inside a refrigerator.

In Ian Cruz's report on "24 Oras," Tuesday, the student innovators talked about their invention called Intelligent Food Organizer, or INFO Magnets.

According to John Florence Dizon, a member of the group, they wanted to address the big problem of food wastage.

In the last record of the Food and Agriculture Organization in the United States, approximately 17% of the overall global food production goes to waste, and 11% of the wasted food comes from households.

"Dun po namin na conceptualize na uy, pwede kaming maglagay ng parang device sa ref nila na pwedeng tingnan ng consumers at a glance, ito yung food namin, ito yung pwede naming lutuin. Ano pa yung fresh anu yung malapit nang mag-expire," said Erwyn Aenas Vibal.

The INFO Magnets work as an indicator to know the freshness of food: a green light means the food is fresh, an orange light indicates that the food must be consumed immediately, and a red light indicates when the food is no longer consumable.

The Pisay students are also developing an INFO App that will allow users to know the quality of the foods inside a refrigerator, no matter where they are located.

They added that the INFO Magnet Board can be equipped with WiFi so it can access information through the app.

"Nasa labas ka eh, walang tao sa bahay di mo malalaman anong nasa ref mo. 'Pag open mo ng bahay makikita mo na agad nakalista diyan kasama mga expiration dates nila, kailan mo nilagay at ano na 'yung wala na, status, or 'yung panis na so puwede ka nang bumili sa supermarket, 'di mo na kailangan mag-lista," Kevin William Castro said.

The group's invention won a silver award at the Singapore International STEM Innovation, organized by the National Junior College and the Singapore Ministry of Education.

According to one of their coaches, the copyright for the INFO Magnets is already underway so the public can start utilizing the invention.

—Carby Basina/MGP, GMA Integrated News