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NE179: Technology and Principles for Assessing and Retaining Postharvest Quality of Fruits and Vegetables

Annual/Termination Reports (SAES-422): [12/27/2000] [11/28/2001] [11/21/2002] [12/23/2002]

Date of Annual Report: 12/27/2000

Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 10/26/00 to 10/28/00
  • Period the Report Covers: 01/2000 to 12/2000

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    Accomplishments and impacts of participants of the NE-179 project, "eTechnology and Principles for
    Assessing and Retaining Post Harvest Quality of Fruits and Vegetables"e, fall within six important areas
    of focus. Evaluation of internal defects/characteristics/composition has received major emphasis while
    the area of concepts and applications for sensing food safety has gained significant momentum. Other
    areas involve external characteristics evaluation, internal chemistry as quality indicator, storage and
    handling, and methodology of data/sensor information analysis.

    For each of these areas, the primary intended outcome is to develop new and unique concepts and
    technology to sense characteristics of fruits and vegetables and to move this technology to commercial
    application. More specifically, to sense, and ultimately sort for the quality and safety assurance
    demanded by the marketplace. The overall intended and potential impact is to increase efficiency,
    security, sustainability, and profitability of the fruit and vegetable industry through such application.
    Presently, many quality characteristics are evaluated by manual sorting, by off-line laboratory tests or
    examination, or simply are not evaluated. A goal of this project is to develop systems where quality
    characteristics can be measured on each individual fruit or vegetable on a packing or processing line.
    Thus, moving from statistical sampling or no evaluation, to a more absolute evaluation and assurance
    through 100% evaluation.

    Technologies of x-ray, near infrared (NIR), multispectral transmittance, optical density, and magnetic
    resonance are being studied to assess watercore and internal browning of apples, maturity of blueberries,
    bacterial invasion in onions, sugar content in several commodities, and composition of honey and oils.
    The ability to detect and assess important quality characteristics that are not detectable by manual sorting
    (humans) represents the uniqueness and specific impact related to these studies. Research continues on
    nondestructive evaluation of fruit firmness. This is needed to replace the Magnus Taylor method that is
    both variable and costly due to the destruction of the large quantity of fruit sampled. Such development
    could eliminate the destructive losses and also may have the potential to sort each individual commodity
    on the line as opposed to relying on a sampling. The firmness methods studied are based on very accurate
    sensing of small forces and deformations.

    Technologies of multispectral and hyperspectral imaging are being studied for external defect detection
    and quantification on apples and cherries. While external defect sorting can be accomplished with human
    sorters, an automated electro-optic non-destructive system can impact the fruit and vegetable industry by
    bringing increased speed, accuracy, and consistency to the sorting process.

    For many of the commodities and concepts, studies for both internal and external quality sensing are
    recognizing the need for specific orientation of each unit to increase accuracy of the system. Participants
    of the project are addressing this need with studies on a orienting fruit for consistent presentation of each
    unit to the sensing system.

    Stakeholders continue to indicate quality sensing are high priorities for their specific commodity
    industries considering the worldwide competitiveness and diverse alternatives in the marketplace. Cost
    and regulation on labor also heighten the priority for automated sensing.

    Experimentation with humidity control technology for optimizing storage environments for specific
    commodities is under study. For these studies the stakeholder is the home consumer and the impact
    would be optimizing shelf life and convenience for individual commodities in the home or small
    storages. This addresses the issue, and fact, that most consumers have a significant portion of their
    purchased fruits and vegetables spoil prior to consumption due to the inability to optimize storage
    conditions for each commodity.

    Fruit and vegetable tissue chemistry is being studied to determine relationships with apple and potato
    firmness. Components of internal chemistry could serve as potential markers for plant breeders to select
    fruits for fresh market and processing purposes.

    Various methods and concepts are under study to address food safety concerns. The two primary areas of
    concern are pathogen contamination and internal pest infestation. Studies include evaluation of
    "eelectronic nose"e biosensor technology for online testing and also more fundamental antibody and DNA
    based assay work toward development of a biosensor. The studies address the broad stakeholder concern
    of domestic Salmonella and E. coli contamination as well as monitoring of such contamination on fruits
    and vegetables entering the U.S. from foreign sources. Detection and/or treatment of pest
    infestations/occurrence in fruits and vegetables is another high priority food safety issue for stakeholders.
    Radio-frequency (RF) heating is being studied as a quarantine treatment for codling moths on cherries
    and in-shell walnuts. This work establishes the fundamental kinetics of codling moth mortality and
    cherry and walnut heat tolerance under RF heating. The impact is cherry and walnut producers can use
    RF to replace methyl bromide (being phased out) in meeting quarantine requirements for export of these
    commodities. Pesticides used in production are being phased out and with it the potential for increased
    occurrence of pests in fruits and vegetables exists. Stakeholders are looking for alternative production
    control methods while also recognizing there will likely be a need to develop or implement technology to
    sort commodities for presence of insect larvae. The impact to the industry is on avoiding complete
    rejection and loss of quantities of final product and loss of markets. Participants of this project have
    studies which are evaluating NIR and physical property measurements of blueberries and cherries as
    potential techniques for identification of larvae in these commodities.

    The sixth area of focus for participants of this project relates to the analysis and prioritization of multiple
    data and information which may be collected by one or more sensors to classify a quality characteristic.
    Many of the techniques under study can produce multiple and ranging information. Determining which
    components, or combination of components, of this information are vital to detecting a quality
    characteristic is a task in most studies. Principle component analysis (PCA) and neural networks (NN)
    are two advanced techniques being studied. There is no direct impact on stakeholders related to this area
    other than this area supports the other focus areas.

    Technology transfer has occurred for some of the studies under this project. A license has been granted
    to a private company to develop and market a commercial version of an assay used as a mold bio-sensor
    for processed tomato juice. An impact sensor was added to an on-line firmness sorting system, resulting
    in improved sorting accuracy and a major food processor is contracting manufacture of the sorting
    system for use in monitoring incoming fruits in order to improve the quality of canned products. A
    relationship exists between one participant and a commercial sorting equipment manufacturer to
    commercialize an optical density based sorting system for blueberries.

    Cooperation between participating stations exists in the form of equipment and facility sharing,
    commodity acquisition, and idea sharing. Multiple cooperative and working relationships exist with
    entities, primarily commercial, outside the group of official project participants. The number and quality
    of these relationships appears to be high indicating the potential for increased, and expedited,
    development and transfer of technologies to stakeholders.

    Commodities addressed by the various participants working as part of this project are: apples, potatoes,
    blueberries, pears, cherries, walnuts, prune plums, vidalia onions, peaches, grapes, tomato juice, honey,
    and plant based oils.

    Future plans for the project involve most participants continuing to develop and refine the technology
    they are working with and to broaden the scope of the study to additional commodities. Establishing
    working relationships beyond the domain of the project group to facilitate concept development and
    technology transfer remains a priority, however, a high number of such relationships presently exist. This
    multi-state project will additionally be working to formalize a project rewrite as the focus of the group is
    addressing some critical stakeholder issues.

    Impact Statements:
    Last Modified: unknown

    Date of Annual Report: 11/28/2001

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 10/03/01 to 10/05/01
  • Period the Report Covers: 01/2001 to 12/2001

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    1. To identify, develop, & evaluate methodologies to assess the quality of fruits and vegetables. CA: Methods to detect freeze damage in oranges were investigated. Internal gas measurements were able to distinguish the partially frozen fruit from unfrozen fruit. Differences in fruit drying rate between partially frozen & unfrozen oranges was observed. The impact of the research will be the development of a quantitative sensing technique that can be used by citrus growers to maintain quality for fruit reaching the market place during a freeze event. GA: A 6 hr delay in cooling muscadine grapes caused firmness losses of 20% compared to ones cooled immediately after harvest. Studies with blueberries showed significant differences from FirmTech II measurements due to berry orientation, instrument settings, berry diameter, & nonlinear force/deformation curves. The output of both studies includes: data for deciding if additional cooling equipment is necessary, documented need for standard procedures (for blueberries - calyx horizontal, 50 min & 150 max force, & the need to use only first measurement), evidence showing the limitations of not including diameter or a power on the deformation term. IN: Cornell University provided healthy onions & onions with interbacterial damage for magnetic resonance tests conducted at Purdue (Indiana). The CPMG T2 decay curves of onions were determined using a low field (5.35 MHz) proton magnetic resonance sensor. The T2 decay curves of 7 of the damaged onions were noticeably different from the T2 curves of healthy onions. The fact that the T2 curves of healthy onions are different from the T2 curves of onions with interbacterial damage suggests that, if a more rapid detection pulse sequence can be developed, 1H-MR sensing can be used for nondestructive on-line detection of onions with interbacterial damage. In collaboration with investigators at GA, A revision to ASAE Standard S368.4, on compression testing of food materials of convex shape, was made. MD: New machine vision algorithms were developed to increase the capability and accuracy of detection of apple defects. Dual NIR and MIR imaging methods along with wavelet image analyses were explored for the defect recognition. MI: Concept development studies are investigating potential multispectral wavelengths and imaging for detection of small larvae in cherries. This work is in collaboration with the USDA -- MI. NC: A sample of 540 blueberries were selected with one of six visual stages of maturity. Using a Neural Network trained on 180 berries (one rep) in all three positions, the predicted SS/Acid ratio is correlated to permit surface color sorters for blueberries to be easily converted to a maturity sorting algorithm that will eliminate the overripe blueberries (that spoil quickly) from the fresh market product. NY  GENEVA:The effects of calcium chloride solutions, pH, temperature and time on the storage modulus of Russet Burbank potato discs were continuously measured using a Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer with a heating stage. Calcium chloride increased the storage modulus of Russet Burbank potatoes, with the most effective conditions being 700C and 0.10M calcium chloride. Pectin Methyl Esterase (PME) activity was measured at two calcium chloride concentrations, after 20, 40, and 60 min heating at temperatures from 40 to 800C. PME activity was higher at low heating temperatures (40-500C) but decreased linearly with heating temperature. Purified Beta-galactosidase from Einset Seedless grapes most active at pH 4.5. This enzyme could be used as a potential source of natural biocatalyst for the preparation of lactose-free dairy products. NY  ITHACA:An algorithm was developed for predicting the average trim waste by weight from measured bruise contact area of apples. USDA  MI: A study on using NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to measure the sugar content and firmness of sweet cherries has been completed with good accuracy. Results showed that a low cost, portable NIR sensor is capable of measuring the sugar content and possibly firmness of apples. A study using an InGaAs NIR area array detector to simultaneously acquire spectroscopic data at different locations from light source to predict fruit sugar content and firmness was begun. Results showed good predictions of the sugar content of apples but the firmness predictions were relatively poor. The NIR study will lead to the development of a low cost, portable sensor for measuring the sugar content and firmness of fruits. This sensor will provide a valuable tool for the grower to make better harvest decisions and will allow the fruit packer, inspector, and retailer to assess fruit postharvest quality more accurately and objectively. PA: Spectroscopic fingerprints of honey from different geographical regions and contamination levels to detect adulterated honey being sold to public was developed. Procedures used to assess hardness and texture of cheese have been applied to assess the quality of pork and beef muscles in a production process. The proposed technology will help the industry to provide consistent quality products to the consumers. FT-Raman spectroscopy and Fourier-transform photoacoustic spectroscopy has successfully discriminated pathogen (E. coli O157:H7) from non-pathogen (non-pathogenic E. coli). Utilization of portable electronic nose technology to assess biological contaminants in apples was initiated. In order to reduce spread of food-borne human pathogens. WA: A treatment protocol has been developed based on 27 MHz radio frequency energy to control insect pests in in-shell walnuts. Confirmation tests indicate that the protocol does not adversely affect product quality. Specific heat capacity, density, and thermal conductivity of sound and bruised apple tissues were measured to assess why apple bruises warm up more slowly than does surrounding sound tissue, making bruises visible with thermal imaging cameras. Thermal conductivity was found to be significantly higher in bruised tissue than in the sound tissue. Also 70 MPa high hydrostatic pressure closely simulated electrolyte leakage of apple tissue bruised by a drop of 150 mm onto a rigid surface. The RF treatment protocols may soon be used in the industry to replace chemical fumigation for quarantine or phytosanitary treatment of post-harvest nuts and fruits for international and intra-state trade. The method is environmental friendly and leaves no chemical residues on treated commodities. Thermal imaging to detect defects in fruits and vegetables provides another useful tool for quality assurance. The methods and devices developed for food thermal property measurements can be used in food process and quality control. Effects of changes in temperature, hydration and cultivar on bruise threshold and thus on how easily a specific crop will bruise during handling can now be predicted. 2. To develop sensor technology for quantitative measurement of fruit and vegetable properties indicative of quality. ME: Low maggot counts during the 2001 field season reduced the ability to classify the maggot versus non-maggot blueberries. Samples blueberries were provided by MI State and system trouble shooting was provided by UC Davis. Results show that it is possible to find differences between maggot and non-maggot berries at the 707, 976 and 1326 nm wavelengths. Maggot identification in the process line is important to Maine wild blueberry producers and processors as they have identified it as one of the top research areas in their 5-year plan for funding support. CA: A DNA sensor was developed for detection of Salmonella in sprout irrigation water. Initial calibration was done with the fluorescence optical sensor, which detected 0.01 _g/ml DNA in water and PCR product from as low as 4 x 102 CFU. Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 have been associated with at least eleven outbreaks involving sprouts since 1995. Robust and real-time sensors are needed to monitor the irrigation water during sprouting and detect contaminated lots. USDA  MI: A NIR hyperspectral imaging system was developed to detect bruises on apples. Relatively good bruise detection results were obtained with the correct classification rate of up to 94%. Optimal wavelengths and bandwidths were also identified for effective detection of bruises on apples. Research on hyperspectral imaging for bruise detection indicates that this technique has the potential for detecting surface defects of apples such as bruises which will aid in advanced fruit sorter development. WA: Work continues on instrumentation and techniques for assessing fruit and vegetable tissue impact properties including elastic modulus and bruise threshold to predict and control handling damage. 3. To develop methodologies for classification and sensor fusion which facilitate optimal fruit and vegetable quality discrimination. GA: Two hundred each of jumbo and small Vidalia onions were inspected using a linescan x-ray system at a rate of 1 to 2 fruits per second. The system functioned at 90%+ accuracy and false positive rate of 8% or less. X-ray linescan has an accuracy of 90%+ for internal quality evaluation. HI: In collaboration with UC-Davis, coffee samples from four distinct locations (islands) in Hawaii were scanned using near infrared spectroscopy (700-1200 nm). The ability to determine the location of origin from characteristics of the green bean will greatly enhance the specialty coffee market. This will be worth several million dollars to the U.S. coffee industry. IN: A conveyor system is being developed that will be capable of moving fruits and vegetables through the HMR sensor at speeds of 0 to 250 mm/sec. MI: Electronic sorting systems, designed primarily for color sorting, are being evaluated for their ability to remove Japanese beetles from the raw product stream of blueberries. Multispectral reflectance was integrated with fluorescence information from apple tissue for improving accuracy and capability of electronic sorting for apple defect detection and quantification. The development and modeling of a nondestructive system to measure apple firmness and correlate to the destructive Magnus-Taylor method is a study nearing completion. This project is investigating probe design and texture and incorporates a nondestructive minimal force focusing on the bioyield point of the tissue. USDA  MI has been collaborating on this project. Scientific unbiased evaluation of commercial equipment and development of new concepts to increase accuracy and capability of electronic sorting equipment assist the industry in making knowledgeable management decisions and provide supplemental strategies to assure insect- and defect-free product. NY  ITHACA: An apple conveying system that orients apples regardless of cultivar shape and presents the apple to the camera at a rate of 5 apples/second has been built and is currently being tested. An inspection station capable of internal and external inspection of each apple would provide a consistent method for apple quality evaluation for all apple markets. The new optics eliminated chromatic aberration and reduced light required compared to the previous optics used. WORK PLANNED FOR NEXT YEAR The current project is scheduled to terminate during the year 2002. The project is being re-written with the following objectives, which will determine the work to be done: 1.Define and measure the engineering properties of fruits and vegetables and their functional relationships to quality. 2.Develop, evaluate and apply rapid non-destructive sensor technology for quantitative measurement of fruit and vegetable quality. 3.Develop, evaluate, and apply rapid sensing technologies to assure food safety including bio-security, purity, and integrity of produce. 4. Integrate sensor technologies with handling and storage systems to retain post harvest quality in fruits and vegetables.

    Impact Statements:
    Last Modified: unknown

    Date of Annual Report: 11/21/2002

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 10/04/02 to 10/05/02
  • Period the Report Covers: 09/1987 to 10/2002

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    NE1008 Minutes, Oct. 5, 2002, Orono, Maine

    Submitted by secretary, ytao@wam.umd.edu

    Gary Hyde, Chair, 10/5/02 at 8:10am, University of Maine.

    Attendees: Affiliation Email address 1 Loren Gautz University of Hawaii, Manoa lguatz@hawaii.edu 2 Daniel Guyer Michigan State University guyer@egr.msu.edu 3 Paul Heinemann Penn State hzh@psu.edu 4 Yong D. Hang Cornell University, Geneva ydh1@cornell.edu 5 Richard Stroshine Purdue University chstrosh@ecn.purdue.edu 6 James Throop Cornell University jat12@cornell.edu 7 Renfu Lu USDA-ARS lur@msu.edu 8 Stan Prussia lochUniversity of Georgia sprussia@griffin.peachnet.edu 9 Andre Baritelle Motorola andre.baritelle@motorola.com 10 Darrell Donahue University of Maine Darrell_Donahue@umit.maine.edu 11 Roger Rohrbach NC State University rohrbach@eos.ncsu.edu 12 Steve Goodwin University of Massachusetts sgoodwin@fnr.umass.edu 13 Gary Hyde Washington State University gmhyde@wsu.edu 14 Yang Tao University of Maryland ytao@wam.umd.edu 15 Boyan Peshlov University of Maine Boyan.Peshlov@umit.maine.edu Members not present: tlpar Vangle Alocilja Michigan State University Daniel J. Aneshansley Cornell Ithaca Antje J. Baeumner Cornell Ithaca M. D. Boyette NC State University M. J. Delwiche University of California Davis J. K. Fellman Washington State University Yen-Con Hung University of Georgia Joseph Irudayaraj Penn State University ustright M. Andy Rao Cornell University-Geneva Joseph Scheerens Ohio State University D. C. Slaughter U. Cal. Davis Ajit Srivastava Michigan State U. L. Stikeleather NC St. U Juming Tang Washington State U idctlpar Ernest Tollner U of Georgia

    Gary called meeting to order.

    Introductions

    1. Welcome to the new administrative advisor of NE-1008 Dr. Steve Goodwin, University of f0Massachusetts.

    2. Awards to NE-179 and its members. Steve Goodwin reported the Directors meeting in West Virginia and NE-179 received the annual award for the job well done. Steve presented certificates to committee members and will get corrections for and send out a few others.

    3. Gary requested Station Reports from each station. Send email attachment to him.

    4. Welcome to The University of Maine by G. Bruce Wiersma, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture and Director of the Maine Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The Dean drove 18 miles from home on a Saturday morning to the meeting and showed much interest and support. He gave an introduction of the University, College of Ag and Natural Resources, Experiment Station, and Maine Agriculture.

    Station Reports* Speaker Affiliation hichTitle

    cellx92321 James Throop Cornell Detection of internal and external defects for apples 2 Yong D. Hung af98Cornell Relationship between the activity of  galactionace and grape firmness 3 Stan Prussia Georgia Simulation models for predicting lochpost harvest changes / Electrolyzed water for treating lettuce (Yen-con Hung) / Classification of onions based on internal defects using commential x-ray inspection equipment (Bill Tollner) 4 Loren Gautz Hawaii Coffee Origins & Kanalactone using NIRS. 5 Darrell Donahue Maine Infestation detection in blue berries via NIR 6 Yang Tao Maryland Safety inspection of fresh fruits and vegetables using optical sensing and imaging techniques. 7 Daniel Guyer Michigan UV visible and NIR reflectance and florescence for disorder and insect identification on fruits and vegetables. f988 Roger Rohrbach N.Carolina Effects of sunlight or shade on maturity and optical density in blueberries. 9 Paul Heinemann Penn Detection of pathogens on fruit using electronic nose and IR spectroscopy technology. 10 Richard Stroshine Indiana Magnetic resonance detection of water core and internal browning of apples. 11 Renfu Lu USDA-MI Nondestructive sensing technologies for assessing internal quality of apples. 12 Gary Hyde Wash. St. Impact damage and insect control research at Washington State University. / Insect killing using Microwave energy (Juming Tang). num13 Andre Baritelle Motorola Update on Motorolas Precision Farming Program. lrtb *Written report also received from U.C. Davis

    New NE-1008 Project:  Thanks to Paul Heinemann for putting the new project proposal together  Paul talked about the proposal. Thanks to each station for the contributions.

    Awards for Mark Mount --- for his outstanding contribution to NE-179. A certificate was drafted and all members signed. Steve will print the certificate and present it to Mark.

    Discussion Session: Focused on NE1008 Project Implementation, including: 1. Proposal writing 2. NE1008 member collaboration to sharing information, equipment, and expertise 3. Seeking and using input from stakeholdersthose who will benefit greatly from the projects expected outputs 4. Effective technology transfer to those stakeholders.  Fresh-cut Produce Associate will hold a trade show in Florida. NE-1008 will setup a booth to show our research. Send Stan Prussia your materials such as slides, posters, etc. for his development of a poster at the show, which is at the End of Oct, 2003, Roger Rohrbach will send information to us.  Stan proposed a survey of sensors about the needs, uses of sensors, and transformation of information to knowledge  Steve Goodwin suggested new ideas about industrial liaison to create more impact to the industry and stakeholders.  Further discussion on how to generate more impact to stakeholders by members: o Invite growers, fresh packers, politicians, etc and ask information o Through road shows and industrial liaisons. o Work with Horticultural Association for inputs o Contact produce marketing association, transport industry, National Food Processor Association NFPA, Apple Association, etc..  How to get these industrial people and what are we looking for? James Throop talked about Cornells experience with growers and politicians.  Web page: NE-1008 http://www.lgu.umd.edu/printVers.cfm?trackID=1154

    Elections and new leadership  Darrell Donahue was elected as the Secretary of 2003-2004  Renfu Lu was elected as the Member at Large  Andre Baritelle was elected as the new Industrial Liaison representative.  Yang Tao, University of Maryland, moves up from current secretary to become Chair for the next meeting.

    Locations of the next meetings (2002-2003 & 2003-2004):

    NC State University. Early January, 2004. Preliminary date: Jan. 9-10 -- Friday tour, and Saturday business meeting. Roger Rohrbach will be the host and finalize the date.

    Michigan State University. August, 2005. Dan Guyer and Renfu Lu will be the host of the meeting.


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    UC Davis developed a system to detect Salmonella in production of alfalfa sprouts. Cornell University developed an all-cultivar, 5-apple-per-second orienter for use in automatic defect detection systems. Cornell University-Geneva research with six grape cultivars (Einset Seedless, Suffolk Red, Canadice, Remaily Seedless, Niagara and Concord) and four apple cultivars (Jonamac, McIntosh, Empire and Crispin) indicates an inverse relationship between the beta-galactosidase activity and the firmness of fruits (apples and grapes). Also, calcium chloride increased the storage modulus of potatoes at 60-80 degree C, with the most effective conditions being 70 degree C and 0.1 M calcium chloride. Pectin methyl esterase activity was higher at lower heating temperatures (40-50 degree C), but decreased linearly with heating temperature. University of Georgia computer model simulations show dramatic quality loss due to delays in cooling of fresh peaches and blueberries. A simulation game developed there teaches produce manages the best balance between peach inventory and profitability. In other experiments, electrolyzed water proved to be as effective as acidified chlorinated water in removing E. coli and Listeria from lettuce leaves. Commercial X-ray equipment proved capable of detecting onion defects before they were visible on the onion surface. The synergy of the NE179/1008 group fostered multi-state cooperation enabling University of Hawaii research to adapt X-ray, NMR, MRI, NIRS and PLS techniques developed elsewhere to the unique problems of tropical agriculture. In addition, University of Hawaii research developed mechanical removal of mucilage from coffee beans that has no effect on coffee flavor and uses much less water than conventional processing. A patent was obtained for converting the mucilage into a food flavoring. A UH-developed near-infrared system was able to determine whether coffee beans were from Kona with zero error for the 180 samples tested. UH near-infrared reflectance scanning of dried Kava root proved to give predictions of total and 6-specy kavalactone concentrations comparable to those found by the standard HPLC methods, and in much less time. University of Maine research found that spectral analysis using visible and near infrared wavelengths can detect maggots in blueberries. University of Maryland continues research on imaging for apple defect recognition and on fruit and vegetable safety inspection using optical sensing and imaging. Michigan State University researchers developed a lighting, filtering, and camera set-up system to use visible and NIR reflectance, halogen and long-wave UV induced fluorescence, and visible and NIR transmittance of light to detect fruit defects, including insects. Potential exists in coupling these techniques to enhance identification and classification of disorders. North Carolina State University research showed higher optical density for blueberries to be strongly correlated with higher sugar/acid ratios, such that optical density could serve as a proxy for sugar/acid measurement. Purdue University research showed that magnetic resonance (MR) decay curves differ between sound apples and those with internal browning or watercore. Development continues on the specialized conveyor needed to move whole fruits and vegetables through the MR sensor. Pennsylvania State University research found that the portable Cyranose 320 could easily detect E. coli K12 at concentrations of 5.3 CFU/ml and higher. Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy proved capable of not only discriminating between 6 different strains of E coli, including the pathogenic E. coli O157:H7, but could differentiate the pathogen from non-pathogens. Further, a prototype Spreeta SPR biosensor proved capable of detecting S. Enteritidis in alfalfa sprouts. USDA/ARS research at Michigan State used multispectral and spectroscopy imaging to assess firmness and sugar content in apples, based on absorption and scattering of light inside the fruit. The multispectral technique predicted Magness-Taylor firmness with a correlation coefficient of 0.87. Results confirm that light scattering is related to the texture of apple tissue. Washington State University research developed the fundamental basis and pilot-scale techniques for microwave and radio frequency eradicating insects from fruits and nuts without damaging those commodities. Fruit and vegetable impact damage research made the connections between commodity tissue properties, temperature and hydration conditioning to improve those properties, and resulting bruise thresholds for these commodities. Conditioning can improve bruise thresholds and hence reduce mechanical damage in fruits and vegetables. Thermal imaging research showed that recent bruises in apples warm more slowly than the surrounding tissue, and that the reason is that the bruises have higher density and higher thermal conductivity, resulting in higher thermal diffusivity. Thus, the bruises conduct heat into the interior of a cold faster and so appear colder in thermal images of the apple surface.

    Impact Statements:
    2. UCD: Eliminating Salmonella from alfalfa and other sprout production systems greatly improves safety of such foods.
    3. Cornell U.-Ithaca: Automatic apple orientation is a key step in automated defect sorting.
    4. Cornell U.-Geneva: The enzyme, beta-galactosidase, could serve as a potential marker in fruit breeding to produce new cultivars for fresh market and processing. Potato firmness is important in handling and is strongly affected by starch and added calcium. However, the changes in firm
    5. ness do not follow simple pseudo first-order kinetics.
    6. U GA: Computer models demonstrate value of proper produce handling and show best means of maintaining flow of produce and profitability.
    7. U GA: Substitution of electrolyzed water for chlorine can provide better work environment and less corrosion of handling systems.
    8. Impact 6 U GA: X-ray defect detection provides a means of automatic elimination of defective produce
    9. Impact 7 U HA: Removing coffee bean mucilage mechanically uses 2
    10. .5% of the water required for the traditional method, and the by-product food flavoring will add several million dollars to Hawaiis agricultural revenue
    11. Impact 8 U HA: Objective identification of real Kona coffee beans increases buyer confidence and helps stabilize markets for Hawaiis coffees
    12. Impact 9U HA: Near infrared scanning quickly and objectively determines kavalactone content, and thus kava root quality, allowing for a more orderly market for the product
    13. Impact 10 U ME: Elim
    14. ination of maggot-infested blueberries is a high priority with Maine blueberry producers and will help assure a high quality product.
    15. Impact 11 U MD: True defect detection in apples is a component in automatic on-line defective fruit elimination
    16. Impact 12 MI St. U: Combined use of infrared through ultra-violet reflectance, fluorescence, and transmittance will enhance automatic nondestructive sorting of fruit for quality.
    17. Impact 13 NC St.: Blueberries are already automatically color s
    18. orted. This new research shows that similar technology can sort by sugar/acid, hence flavor, as well.
    19. Impact 14 Purdue U: The magnetic resonance results show the feasibility of automated nondestructive detection of internal defects in apples and possibly other fruits and vegetables.
    20. Impact 15 Penn St. U: The new sensors and techniques can non-destructively detect bacterial contamination in food and facilitate efficient elimination of contaminated products.
    21. Impact 16 USDA: Multispectr
    22. al imaging can meet apple-packing line grading requirements and has the potential for on-line sorting by firmness and sugar content.
    23. Impact 17 WA St. U: The new microwave and radio frequency insect eradication techniques provide a safe, viable alternative to methyl bromide for guaranteeing insect-free shipments of fruits and nuts.
    24. Impact 18 WA St. U: The impact property research provides a fundamental basis for fruit and vegetable cultivar selection, temperature and hydration conditionin
    25. g, and design and operation of commodity handling equipment for minimizing mechanical impact damage.
    26. Impact 19 WA St. U: Thermal imaging is a viable technique for detecting and eliminating damaged fruits and vegetables.
    Last Modified: unknown

    Date of Annual Report: 12/23/2002

    Report Information:
  • (STILL IN DRAFT VERSION)
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 10/04/02 to 10/05/02
  • Period the Report Covers: 10/1997 to 09/2002

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:

    Accomplishments:
    UC Davis developed a system to detect Salmonella in production of alfalfa sprouts. Cornell University developed an all-cultivar, 5-apple-per-second orienter for use in automatic defect detection systems. University of Georgia computer model simulations show dramatic quality loss due to delays in cooling of fresh peaches and blueberries. A simulation game developed there teaches produce manages the best balance between peach inventory and profitability. In other experiments, electrolyzed water proved to be as effective as acidified chlorinated water in removing E. coli and Listeria from lettuce leaves. Commercial X-ray equipment proved capable of detecting onion defects before they were visible on the onion surface. The synergy of the NE179/1008 group fostered multi-state cooperation enabling University of Hawaii research to adapt X-ray, NMR, MRI, NIRS and PLS techniques developed elsewhere to the unique problems of tropical agriculture. In addition, University of Hawaii research developed mechanical removal of mucilage from coffee beans that has no effect on coffee flavor and uses much less water than conventional processing. A patent was obtained for converting the mucilage into a food flavoring. A UH-developed near-infrared system was able to determine whether coffee beans were from Kona with zero error for the 180 samples tested. UH near-infrared reflectance scanning of dried Kava root proved to give predictions of total and 6-specy kavalactone concentrations comparable to those found by the standard HPLC methods, and in much less time. University of Maine research found that spectral analysis using visible and near infrared wavelengths can detect maggots in blueberries. University of Maryland continues research on imaging for apple defect recognition and on fruit and vegetable safety inspection using optical sensing and imaging. Michigan State University researchers developed a lighting, filtering, and camera set-up system to use visible and NIR reflectance, halogen and long-wave UV induced fluorescence, and visible and NIR transmittance of light to detect fruit defects, including insects. Potential exists in coupling these techniques to enhance identification and classification of disorders. North Carolina State University research showed higher optical density for blueberries to be strongly correlated with higher sugar/acid ratios, such that optical density could serve as a proxy for sugar/acid measurement. Purdue University research showed that magnetic resonance (MR) decay curves differ between sound apples and those with internal browning or watercore. Development continues on the specialized conveyor needed to move whole fruits and vegetables through the MR sensor. Pennsylvania State University research found that the portable Cyranose͐ 320 could easily detect E. coli K12 at concentrations of 5.3 CFU/ml and higher. Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy proved capable of not only discriminating between 6 different strains of E coli, including the pathogenic E. coli O157:H7, but could differentiate the pathogen from non-pathogens. Further, a prototype Spreeta SPR biosensor proved capable of detecting S. Enteritidis in alfalfa sprouts. USDA/ARS research at Michigan State used multispectral and spectroscopy imaging to assess firmness and sugar content in apples, based on absorption and scattering of light inside the fruit. The multispectral technique predicted Magness-Taylor firmness with a correlation coefficient of 0.87. Results confirm that light scattering is related to the texture of apple tissue. Washington State University research developed the fundamental basis and pilot-scale techniques for microwave and radio frequency eradicating insects from fruits and nuts without damaging those commodities. Fruit and vegetable impact damage research made the connections between commodity tissue properties, temperature and hydration conditioning to improve those properties, and resulting bruise thresholds for these commodities. Conditioning can improve bruise thresholds and hence reduce mechanical damage in fruits and vegetables. Thermal imaging research showed that recent bruises in apples warm more slowly than the surrounding tissue, and that the reason is that the bruises have higher density and higher thermal conductivity, resulting in higher thermal diffusivity. Thus, the bruises conduct heat into the interior of a cold faster and so appear colder in thermal images of the apple surface.

    Impact Statements:
    2. UC Davis developed a system to detect Salmonella in production of alfalfa sprouts.
    3. Cornell University developed an all-cultivar, 5-apple-per-second orienter for use in automatic defect detection systems.
    4. University of Georgia computer model simulations show dramatic quality loss due to delays in cooling of fresh peaches and blueberries. A simulation game developed there teaches produce manages the best balance between peach inventory and profitability. In other experiments, electrolyze
    5. d water proved to be as effective as acidified chlorinated water in removing E. coli and Listeria from lettuce leaves. Commercial X-ray equipment proved capable of detecting onion defects before they were visible o
    6. The synergy of the NE179/1008 group fostered multi-state cooperation enabling University of Hawaii research to adapt X-ray, NMR, MRI, NIRS and PLS techniques developed elsewhere to the unique problems of tropical agriculture. In addition, University of Hawaii research developed mec
    7. hanical removal of mucilage from coffee beans that has no effect on coffee flavor and uses much less water than conventional processing. A patent was obtained for converting the mucilage into a food flavoring.
    8. A UH-developed near-infrared system was able to determine whether coffee beans were from Kona with zero error for the 180 samples tested.
    9. University of Maine research found that spectral analysis using visible and near infrared wavelengths can detect maggots in blueberries.
    10. Univer
    11. sity of Maryland continues research on imaging for apple defect recognition and on fruit and vegetable safety inspection using optical sensing and imaging.
    12. Michigan State University researchers developed a lighting, filtering, and camera set-up system to use visible and NIR reflectance, halogen and long-wave UV induced fluorescence, and visible and NIR transmittance of light to detect fruit defects, including insects. Potential exists in coupling these techniques to enhance identification and
    13. classification of disorders.
    14. North Carolina State University research showed higher optical density for blueberries to be strongly correlated with higher sugar/acid ratios, such that optical density could serve as a proxy for sugar/acid measurement.
    15. Purdue University research showed that magnetic resonance (MR) decay curves differ between sound apples and those with internal browning or watercore. Development continues on the specialized conveyor needed to move whole fruits and vegetables
    16. through the MR sensor.
    17. Pennsylvania State University research found that the portable Cyranose 320 could easily detect E. coli K12 at concentrations of 5.3 CFU/ml and higher. Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy proved capable of not only discriminating between 6 different strains of E coli, including the pathogenic E. coli O157:H7, but could differentiate the pathogen from non-pathogens. Further, a prototype Spreeta SPR biosensor proved capable of detecting S. Enteritidis in alfalfa sprou
    18. ts.
    19. USDA/ARS research at Michigan State used multispectral and spectroscopy imaging to assess firmness and sugar content in apples, based on absorption and scattering of light inside the fruit. The multispectral technique predicted Magness-Taylor firmness with a correlation coefficient of 0.87. Results confirm that light scattering is related to the texture of apple tissue.
    20. Washington State University research developed the fundamental basis and pilot-scale techniques for microwave and ra
    21. dio frequency eradicating insects from fruits and nuts without damaging those commodities. Fruit and vegetable impact damage research made the connections between commodity tissue properties, temperature and hydration conditioning to improve those properties, and resulting bruise thresholds for these commodities. Conditioning can improve bruise thresholds and hence reduce mechanica
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