Recent trials at avocado packers in the UK have underlined the Sinclair iQ system’s ability to segregate fruit to meet retailer firmness and pressure specifications more accurately, more cheaply and faster than hand-sorting methods.
Tests involved measuring fruit with the Sinclair iQ firmness tester, grading the fruit using trained hand sorters and finally testing every fruit destructively using a penetrometer. The penetrometer value was then used to decide if the fruit was within retailer specification, too hard or too soft. The results of both Sinclair iQ and hand sorters were then compared jointly to penetrometer readings and the percentage of fruit correctly graded was calculated. The tests were repeated and modified to include different retailer specifications.
During the tests, the speed at which the fruit was sorted and packed was also measured.
For ripe retailer specifications, 93 per cent of fruit sorted by iQ was classified as within specification compared to 73 per cent as sorted by hand. Upon repeat and for different specifications the iQ was consistently more accurate than hand sorting. As part of the test, the same fruit was graded twice by the same team of hand sorters, and on repeat up to 40 per cent of the fruit was graded differently.
The company’s James Packham told freshinfo: “We carry out these sort of trials quite frequently to evaluate and validate the iQ system, as well as to help our customers. What these trials, which were carried out in the last month or so, have shown is that the iQ system offers consistency as well as accuracy.”
The speed at which the fruit was packed in the trials was measured in fruit per minute. The results showed, on average, a team of six trained hand sorters were able to sort and pack at 45 fruit a minute. The Sinclair iQ firmness tester, using a team of five people, packed 116 fruit a minute per lane. The Sinclair iQ firmness tester is capable of measuring firmness at speeds of up to 600 fruit a minute per lane, depending on application.
Packham said: “This increase in speed combined with the reduction in personnel equates to a 66 per cent saving in labour costs and factoring in the price of an iQ system still yields a 40 per cent saving in operational costs. This saving ignores the extra benefits gained from the increased accuracy of the Sinclair iQ firmness tester.”
Sinclair iQ systems also measure the firmness of kiwifruit and mango.
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