A fruit firmness testing system developed in the UK has been hailed as 'the
saviour of the avocado world' by a leading avocado supplier in the US.
At the forefront of avocado handling, packaging and distribution in the US retail and food service market, Mission is leading the way in the avocado industry's fastest growing sector ñ ripe and ready fruit.
Committed to providing ripe, ready-to-eat avocados tailored for retail stores and consumers, Mission started working with Sinclair
iQ, a division of international labelling company Sinclair International, on
innovative ripening programmes for major retail customers in 2001.
Norwich-based fruit testing technology specialist Sinclair iQ developed the
SIQ-FT (Sinclair Internal Quality ñ Firmness Tester) for use by fruit distributors and packhouses worldwide. The SIQ-FT is a non-destructive high speed system for measuring the firmness of every individual fruit online to predict ripeness levels.
Mission has now installed SIQ-FT systems at its main plant in Oxnard, California together with four other strategic ripening centres in Denver, Chicago, Vineland NJ and Atlanta. Each facility houses ripening rooms where
air flow, temperature and humidity are computer monitored. Ripe fruit is sorted online by the SIQ-FT, which measures and precisely separates avocados according to firmness readings. Avocados are then boxed so that each piece of fruit in any given carton is within the same firmness band.
Mission Produce president and ceo Steve Barnard said: "We've been developing
our ripe programs for several years and have tested a number of different types of technology. We're confident that with the SIQ-FT, we have found the best firmness testing technology on the market today."
The worldwide market for ready-to-eat avocados has grown rapidly in the last
two years and research by Mission shows ripe avocados now outsell hard fruit by
almost four to one.
Mission developed its ripe programmes to help customers sell
more avocados and increase profits, while reducing inventory and shrink.
The results of Mission's ripe programme in Southern California showed an
increase in sales of more than 300 per cent for one retailer.
Barnard said: "Avocado is traditionally difficult, as fruit picked on the same day from the same tree can have a very different level of maturity.
“Sinclair's firmness testing system sorts every avocado according to ripeness
and enables us to provide consistent quality fruit, which allows retailers to derive 100 per cent utilisation. Our customers are very excited and are seeing sales numbers they have never seen before.
“There is no doubt it has made a huge impact on our business and has increased volumes substantially. We have an absolute belief in the system and know it works."
Mission plans to invest in further SIQ-FT systems as it continues to increase business and grow volumes within its ripening centres. Mission currently handles avocados from more than 1,000 US growers, totalling in the region of 10,000 acres. The Hass variety represents around 90 per cent of the total volume of fruit handled.
Barnard says: "Our main focus for the future is to increase consumption of avocados. Supplying perfectly ripe fruit plays a big part in driving consumer momentum. Consumers have to be confident that they can go into the store on any day and pick up a ripe avocado to take home and eat.
“We're confident that the combination of Sinclair's technology and our
expertise will ensure continued growth in the supply of ripe avocados for
consumers across the US."
The SIQ-FT utilises Sinclair patented bellows with piezoelectric sensors to
measure firmness around the circumference of every fruit online and can sort
produce into up to six firmness bands. The system operates at commercial
speeds of up to 10 fruit per second and is compatible with all major sizing
and grading equipment.
SIQ-FT systems are now installed at commercial fruit operations worldwide
including the US, UK, Europe, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa. Product applications include avocado, apples, kiwifruit, stonefruit and mango.
For more information, contact Sinclair iQ on: 01603 726400, or email:
ukinfo@sinclair-intl.com or visit www.sinclair-intl.com
• • • • • •
Greefa is well-known for its progressive developments with sorting machines, particularly for the modules iFA ñ for the internal quality determination and brix value, and iFD for the non-destructive firmness detection of fruit.
Besides the development of new techniques it has worked hard on improving existing techniques, particularly in the iQS module which has been completely renewed and introduced as the iQS II.
The first important improvement of the second generation iQS is a combined camera system.
More defects from 1mm2 on a fruit can be detected. Spots that are darker and lighter than the background can easily be determined. Within this determination the customer can indicate the specifications for up to five different classes. A colour contrast of 15 per cent is necessary to detect the defects.
The combination of infra-red and colour cameras makes it possible to detect a wide range of defects amongst others chemical, hail and frost damage and winter moth.
The requirements of how good and consistent quality fruit should be supplied are becoming more and more important as well as cost savings.
iQS II guarantees cost savings and a consistent quality of your sorted batch.
iQS II is used for most varieties of the apple, pear, citrus and stone fruit, pepper and tomato.
No comments yet