The most frustrating challenges for almond producers lie around detecting the tiniest defects and removing these nuts from production. Many inspection systems simply are not sensitive enough to spot the tiniest pinhole damage, making rework by human inspectors unavoidable.

Fragments of shell becoming embedded in almond flesh is an unavoidable effect of the shelling process. Some types of almonds are more prone than others due to water content of the nut and hardness of shell.  Unfortunately for processors, embedded shell is classified as foreign material.  With confectionary companies demanding less and less foreign material, embedded shell has become one of the most focused on defects to remove.  Many confectionary companies require less than 5 pieces of foreign material per ton.  To put this into perspective, there are approximately 1 Million almonds in one metric ton, so to ask for less than 5 pieces to have embedded shell is an enormous request.

The global potato market is growing. Consumer demand is on the up, with the potato recognized once more as the nutritious, tasty, low-cost diet staple it is. Many factors have created this effect: value-added products, carb-friendly diets and new varieties of potato to name a few, plus promotions, such as Potatoes: More than a bit on the side.

Almond doubles (twins) are just as tasty and nutritious as their single cousins, yet often cause a high quality product to be sold at a lower grade due to the challenges around blanchin or slicing the odd shape. Whilst premium whole nut brands might reject these concave nuts, there are plenty of others waiting to turn them into butter, flour or use them in snack bars.

A simple online search for ‘food waste’ yields thousands of results; from official government reports to news of innovative initiatives spearheaded by global supermarket chains and local restaurants, the drive to reduce food waste across the supply and consumption chain has garnered significant publicity and investment, steadily gathering momentum to become one of the biggest global movements of our time.

TOMRA exhibits the TOMRA 5A, its avant-garde model for potatoes sorting. Compac’s new UltraView inspection module maximizes Spectrim’s grading performance. And BBC Technologies introduces LUCAi™ software, bringing sophisticated artificial intelligence to fresh blueberry sorting.

I joined TOMRA Food as a Business Development Specialist in May 2017. From the market research at the beginning of a new project, until the development of marketing deliverables at the end, it is very exciting to introduce a new food sorting application to the TOMRA Food family. In my spare time, I enjoy travelling the world, discovering new cultures. 

As a company who take great pride in delivering exceptional quality of both their kernel and in-shell produce, the TOMRA 3C has enabled Laragon to significantly enhance their operation.

TOMRA Food, the leading manufacturer of food sorting and peeling solutions, has once again participated in the Agroprodmash Expo. This is one of the largest exhibitions of equipment, machinery and ingredients for the food and processing industry in Russia.

More volatile weather and growing conditions mean that it is more important than ever to make to the most of your potatoes, writes Cedric Porter, Editor World Potato Markets.