{"id":3734185,"date":"2026-05-14T13:13:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/?p=3734185"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:13:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:13:35","slug":"albertsons-builds-ai-grades-produce-before-shipping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/artificial-intelligence\/2026\/albertsons-builds-ai-grades-produce-before-shipping\/","title":{"rendered":"Albertsons Builds AI That Grades Produce Before It Ships"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.albertsons.com\/\">Albertsons<\/a> wants to know whether a grape is bad before it ever reaches a store shelf.<\/p><div\r\n\tid=\"article-paywall-overlay\"\r\n\tclass=\"d-none\"\r\n>\r\n\t<div id=\"article-paywall-content\" class=\"my-4\">\r\n\t\t\n<div class=\"wpcf7 no-js\" id=\"wpcf7-f2699550-o1\" lang=\"en-US\" dir=\"ltr\" data-wpcf7-id=\"2699550\">\n<div class=\"screen-reader-response\"><p role=\"status\" aria-live=\"polite\" 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class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-hidden\" value=\"\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"email\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control-wrap\" data-name=\"newsLetterChoice\"><span class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-checkbox me-1\" id=\"checkNewsletter\"><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item first last\"><input type=\"checkbox\" name=\"newsLetterChoice[]\" value=\"yes\" checked=\"checked\" \/><span class=\"wpcf7-list-item-label\">yes<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"small\">Subscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"small lh-base\" style=\"font-size:.9rem;\">By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https:\/\/pymnts-com-develop.go-vip.net\/privacy-policy\/\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https:\/\/pymnts-com-develop.go-vip.net\/terms-conditions\/\">Terms and Conditions<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p><input id='hiddenPath' type='hidden' name='path' value='' \/><input type='hidden' name='userDeviceId' id='userDeviceId' \/><input type='hidden' name='pageTitle' id='pageTitle' \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id='formButtonRow' class='container mt-1 px-0'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><input class=\"wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-submit has-spinner btn btn-dark text-uppercase py-2 px-5 small\" id=\"theSubmitButton\" type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"post_id\" value=\"3734185\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"source\" value=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/artificial-intelligence\/2026\/albertsons-builds-ai-grades-produce-before-shipping\/\" \/><p style=\"display: none !important;\" class=\"akismet-fields-container\" data-prefix=\"_wpcf7_ak_\"><label>&#916;<textarea name=\"_wpcf7_ak_hp_textarea\" cols=\"45\" rows=\"8\" maxlength=\"100\"><\/textarea><\/label><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"ak_js_1\" name=\"_wpcf7_ak_js\" value=\"98\"\/><script>document.getElementById( \"ak_js_1\" ).setAttribute( \"value\", ( new Date() ).getTime() );<\/script><\/p><div class=\"wpcf7-response-output\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div id=\"article-paywall-hidden-content\">\r\n\t\n<p>To find out, the grocer built an artificial intelligence tool that uses computer vision and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/\">Google<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/gemini.google.com\/app\">Gemini<\/a> models to grade fresh produce inside its distribution centers, replacing the inspector-by-inspector judgments that have long determined what clears the quality threshold.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3734351 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Albertsons-Intelligent-Quality-Control.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" \/>The tool, called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.googlecloudpresscorner.com\/2026-05-13-Albertsons-Companies-Announces-AI-Powered-Supply-Chain-Tool-to-Further-Enhance-Produce-Quality-Control-and-Consistency\">Intelligent Quality Control<\/a>, launched in select Albertsons distribution centers this month. A quality inspector feeds an image of the produce into the tool, which evaluates visual characteristics against Albertsons\u2019 internal grading standards and returns a rating and recommendation, according to a Wednesday (May 13) press release. The inspector makes the final call. It\u2019s live now for strawberries and red and green grapes, with the full berry section next in line and a nationwide rollout planned.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Inconsistency Problem<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Produce quality inspection has always been a human problem with a human-shaped flaw. The same item might grade differently depending on the inspector, the shift, the warehouse or the hour. Across a network like Albertsons\u2019 22 distribution centers and 2,244 stores, small inconsistencies can compound.<\/p>\n<p>Produce accounts for the largest share of surplus food generated by retailers in the United States, at 33.1% of the roughly 4 million tons that went unsold in 2024, ReFED <a href=\"https:\/\/refed.org\/stakeholders\/retailers\/\">reported<\/a>. That\u2019s not all traceable to grading decisions, but those decisions sit at the front of every freshness outcome that follows.<\/p>\n<p>Albertsons Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Officer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/evan-rainwater-749516b\/\">Evan Rainwater<\/a> said in the release that early results showed the tool had reduced variability in quality ratings. The company didn\u2019t release specific figures but said the system produces faster decisions and captures more granular quality data per inspection than the manual process allowed.<\/p><div id=\"pymnt-3606465559\" class=\"pymnt-content pymnt-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 50px;\"><p style=\"text-align:center\">Advertisement: Scroll to Continue<\/p><script async type=\"text\/javascript\" id=\"dianomi_context_script\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dianomi.com\/js\/contextfeed.js\"><\/script> \r\n<div class=\"dianomi_context\" data-dianomi-context-id=\"4329\"><\/div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThis is just the latest advancement in how we are using AI within our multibillion-dollar supply chain to improve operational efficiencies, improve product quality, and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction,\u201d Rainwater said in the release.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Standardizing the Eye<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The case for computer vision here isn\u2019t about replacing inspectors. It\u2019s about giving them a consistent baseline. The AI applies the same visual criteria to every piece of fruit that moves through the system. Inspectors still approve the final rating.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bccresearch.com\/market-research\/information-technology\/ai-in-food-safety-and-quality-control-markets.html\">AI in food safety and quality control market<\/a> was valued at $2.7 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $13.7 billion by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate of 30.9%, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.bccresearch.com\/how-ai-is-transforming-food-safety-quality-control-in-2026\">BCC Research<\/a>. Most deployments in that market run on manufacturing and processing lines. Albertsons built its tool in-house, positioned it at the distribution center level, and designed it around its own proprietary grading standards rather than a generic quality model.<\/p>\n<p>That distinction matters for how the system performs. Generic visual inspection tools can identify obvious defects. A tool trained on a retailer\u2019s internal standards grades against the same criteria the chain uses to make buying and markdown decisions, keeping the inspection layer consistent with the commercial layer.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Where the Data Goes Next<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The system captures granular quality measures per inspection, building a data layer that didn\u2019t exist when inspectors logged grades manually. That record can show how produce quality varies by supplier, origin or other variables. Consistent grading is what makes that analysis usable.<\/p>\n<p>The Intelligent Quality Control tool is the latest product of Albertsons\u2019 partnership with <a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/\">Google Cloud<\/a>. In 2025, Albertsons was among the first grocers to launch Google Cloud\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/artificial-intelligence-2\/2025\/albertsons-deploys-google-clouds-new-conversational-commerce-agent\/\">Conversational Commerce<\/a> agent as a customer-facing shopping assistant. The supply chain tool follows that deployment with AI applied to the distribution layer.<\/p>\n<p>Albertsons plans to expand the system across more fresh products, the release said.<\/p>\n<p><em>For all PYMNTS AI coverage, subscribe to the daily <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/pymnts.com\/subscribe\/\"><em>AI Newsletter<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>\r\n\twindow.pymntsAllowedArticleCount = 1;\r\n\twindow.pymntsPostID = 3734185;\r\n<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Albertsons wants to know whether a grape is bad before it ever reaches a store shelf. Get the Full Story Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content \u2014 no additional logins required. yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today. By completing this form, you agree to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2505716,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","pymnts_footnotes":""},"categories":[15099],"tags":[18035,9680,4935,9206,133069],"class_list":["post-3734185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-albertsons","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-grocery","tag-news","tag-pymnts-news"],"acf":{"suggested_titles":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Albertsons Builds AI That Grades Produce Before It Ships<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Albertsons\u2019 Intelligent Quality Control uses computer vision and Gemini to apply a grading standard to produce in its distribution network.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/news\/artificial-intelligence\/2026\/albertsons-builds-ai-grades-produce-before-shipping\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Albertsons Builds AI That Grades Produce Before It Ships | PYMNTS.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Albertsons wants to know whether a grape is bad before it ever reaches a store shelf. 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