Cellar Insights Launches Rotten Potato Data Project to Strengthen Early Warning for Potato Storage Spoilage

Cellar Insights has launched the Rotten Potato Data Project, a new initiative designed to improve early warning systems for potato storage spoilage by collecting historical digital records from significant storage loss events. The phased program aims to help the potato industry across North America better identify spoilage risks before they become visible, reducing costly storage losses for growers, packers, and processors.

The first phase of the project is open to potato growers and storage operators in Manitoba, Alberta, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick, with expansion into the United States scheduled to begin next month. Eligible participants who submit qualifying historical storage data from major spoilage events will receive compensation following a review process.

Historical Spoilage Data to Build Industry-Wide Early Warning Library

The Rotten Potato Data Project focuses on collecting digital records from significant storage spoilage incidents, including rot, breakdown, hot spots, and quality deterioration. Cellar Insights will combine these real-world events with sensor and storage controller data recorded in the days and weeks leading up to spoilage.

This information will be transformed into a labelled database of storage events that will be used to train and evaluate machine-learning models capable of detecting storage risks earlier and with greater accuracy.

Terry Sydoryk, CEO at Cellar Insights:

"Rotten potatoes are usually something growers want to forget. But the data around those events is incredibly valuable. If we can understand what was happening in the days and weeks before a problem became obvious, we can build better tools that help every operator spot risk earlier."

According to the company, storage losses remain one of the least visible costs in the potato supply chain because spoilage often develops quietly inside potato storages before being detected, resulting in unexpected financial losses and quality issues.

Confidential Data Handling and Planned North American Expansion

Cellar Insights emphasized that all participant data will remain confidential. Submitted records will be de-identified before being used for model development, and no individual grower, storage facility, or spoilage event will be publicly identified. The company also stated that participation will not affect growers' commercial relationships and that submitted information will be used exclusively to develop and evaluate storage-risk intelligence.

Courtney Kowk, Customer Success, Sales & Marketing Lead:

"Growers who participate aren't just getting compensated for old records — they're shaping the early-warning tools the whole industry will rely on.The operations that have lived through a serious spoilage event know better than anyone what an earlier warning would have been worth."

During the initial phase, the project will accept historical spoilage records from Canadian potato storages using eligible digital storage management systems, including IVI, Techmark, Gorman, and BTU. Each submission will be reviewed individually to determine eligibility before compensation is issued, and submitting data does not automatically guarantee acceptance.

Future phases of the project will expand participation to major U.S. potato-growing regions, support additional storage management systems, and include broader categories of storage-risk events as Cellar Insights continues developing its spoilage-risk analytics platform. 

The company noted that while the project supports its broader efforts in potato storage monitoring, data visibility, and machine-learning-based spoilage-risk intelligence, participation does not guarantee spoilage prevention, earlier detection, reduced losses, or financial savings. 

Growers and storage operators who have experienced significant spoilage events and have access to digital storage records can learn more through Cellar Insights' official website or contact the company directly for participation details.