Apparatus and methods for hygiene monitoring in restaurants and grocery superstores

A hygiene monitoring system comprising:

• a radio frequency (RF) tag transmitting an RF signal and is attached to a user;
• an RF tag reader capable of receiving the transmitted RF signal from the RF tag, and estimating its approximate distance from the RF tag;
• a first database for storing a list of food type and their corresponding food-specific safe consumption period for consuming food stored in the food container after opening the food container based on a food type stored in the opened food container, and
• a processor configured to automatically generate a set of food expiration information for an opened food container when the user opens the food container, said set of food expiration information comprising information by calculating an expiration date based on a food-specific safe consumption period retrieved from said first database, a specified food type and a first current date;
• wherein said food-specific safe consumption period is retrieved from said first database based on a specified food type communicated to the processor by the user;
• and
• wherein the generation of said set of food expiration information is triggered when the approximate distance of the RF tag from the RF tag reader is less than a preset value.

A hygiene monitoring system comprising:

• a first database for storing a list of food type and their corresponding food-specific safe consumption period for consuming food stored in a food container after a user opens the food container, and
• a processor configured to automatically qenerate a set of food expiration information for an opened food container when the user opens the food container;
• wherein said set of food expiration information for an opened food container comprising an expiration date calculated based on a food-specific safe consumption period, and a first current date indicating when the food container is being opened by the user, and a unique bar code assigned to each food expiration information to identify said opened food container;
• and;
• a label printer configured for producing a hardcopy of said unique bar code to be attached to the opened food container;
• a bar code reader;
• an inventory management system:
• a second database for storing said set of food expiration information;
• wherein said food-specific safe consumption period is retrieved from said first database based on a specified food type communicated to the processor by the user;
• and
• wherein said bar code reader scans said unique bar code upon disposal of each opened food container;
• and,
• wherein said inventory management system uses the scanned unique bar code from said bar code reader along with the data stored in said second database to keep track of opened food containers currently available in a compartment storing food containers and their corresponding expiration date.