Food-scanner applications in the fruit and vegetable sector

In the past few years, portable and smartphone-based diagnostic technologies have found their way into the agri-food industry. The aim of this research was to evaluate the performance of portable near-infrared (NIR) spectrometers, so called food-scanners, with regard to their predictive accuracy of important quality parameters of fruit and vegetables. Food-scanner measurements were performed in combination with destructive measurements of the corresponding quality trait (sugar content, dry matter, relative water content) on a wide range of produce from the fruit and vegetable assortment. This study evaluated dry matter content of apple, avocado, blueberry, table grape and tangerine, which yielded cross validation results (r²) of up to 0.95, 0.87, 0.94, 0.92 and 0.92 respectively. Furthermore, the evaluation of food-scanner spectra for the prediction of sugar content of blueberry, kiwi, mango, persimmon, table grape, tangerine and tomato yielded cross validations (r²) of up to 0.95, 0.84, 0.80, 0.75, 0.95, 0.93, and 0.87. Furthermore, relative water content of ginger obtained a cross validation correlation of r² = 0.91. The results show that these traits can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy using non-destructive measurements performed with three commercially available food-scanners SCiO™, F-750 Produce Quality Meter, and H-100F. Consequently, food-scanners can be used as objective measurement tools along the supply chain of fresh produce to quickly determine fruit quality. In addition, a practical example shows the potential of these instruments for non-destructive quality assessment in incoming goods control at fruit and vegetable wholesalers over a time period of several weeks. Furthermore, possible areas of application of food-scanners along the supply chain of fresh produce are discussed, possibilities for practical applications are presented and time-saving means are highlighted.