Foodservice

Chowbotics quadruples robotic salad maker placements in hospitals amidst new criteria for food safety

May 6, 2020

Chowbotics, a manufacturer of a robotic salad machine, is deploying over 50 new robots providing fresh customizable meals to hospitals around the country, quadrupling their hospital presence since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Leaping from 16 hospitals on Feb 1, 2020, Chowbotics' Sally the salad robot is slated to be in 70 hospitals in the U.S. and Europe by the end of June.

As hospitals nationwide have shut down their salad bars amidst hygienic concerns and new food safety criteria, Sally provides safer access to fresh food 24/7 with the ability to customize meals for dietary preferences.

"Due to COVID-19 we have had to close our self-serve salad bar which really had a negative impact on customer service in our main cafeteria," Tonya Johnson, director of nutrition services at the University Arkansas Medical School, said in the press release. "Fortunately we have two Sallys in other retail locations where people can still enjoy fresh salads with ingredients they choose. The equipment provides a safe, sanitary method to distribute fresh ingredients."

Sally's container keeps all ingredients protected from touch or exposure to the environment, reducing the risk of contamination. In addition to providing a more hygienic experience, Sally gives users the ability to customize meals from up to 22 fresh ingredients with interactive nutrition information.

This combination of safety and personalized nutrition helps hospitals in need of new custom foodservice solutions post COVID-19. Users can also select from preprogrammed meals at the tap of the button with recipes developed by Chowbotics' culinary team which includes alumni from Morimoto Napa, The French Laundry and John Muir Health Center.

For an update on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the convenience services industry, click here.

Photo courtesy of Chowbotics.