In the business of IQF fruit processing, it’s a fact of life that small and medium processors often cannot afford the same setup of sorting machines as larger processors. Whereas larger operations typically invest in a combination of different technologies like laser and camera, medium and small operations tend to rely on one sorter camera-based sorters which are less costly but also less sophisticated.

New premises, with Customer Experience Center and Regional Training Hub, will strengthen the customer support provided across Latin America by TOMRA Food, Compac, and BBC Technologies

Running a potato fresh pack line involves keeping an eye on so many variables that it can seem like juggling – and now, because of COVID-19, there are more balls to keep in the air. Performing the seemingly impossible can become possible, however, when TOMRA Food provides a helping hand. TOMRA’s optical sorting machines, well known for sorting to high levels of accuracy with low levels of waste, also solve a wide range of pack line challenges which have intensified since the emergence of COVID-19.

Quality and traceability, two important requirements of potato fresh packing, are threatened by market disruptions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns have increased home-cooking and the popularity of fresh potatoes, packers may have been tempted to keep up with demand by sending greater quantities of potatoes down the line or setting lines to run at higher speed – but this makes quality control more difficult.

Installing TOMRA’s Sentinel II sorting machine has enabled the Bolognese company to select large quantities of potatoes – its flagship products – with great precision and minimal waste

With fresh vegetable sales boosted by people cooking more at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, many potato fresh packers are stretched to capacity. Some are even turning away work because they are too busy to handle it. Other packhouses, however, have the capacity to spare but are unable to win new business. Two very different situations, but frequently explainable by the same reason: technical capabilities. Packers can no longer gain or retain big customers without having the technologies which enable them to operate with high productivity and flexibility.

One of the unforeseen consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is the large increase in demand for fresh fruit and vegetables. This means that some potato fresh packers are now busier than ever, but not without a couple of challenges. The first is the pressure on packing lines to achieve greater throughputs without compromising product quality. The second is the need for more workers at a time when manual labor is especially scarce.

Free, downloadable publication addresses challenges intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic

The solutions provided by sorting technologies are more necessary now than ever before.

Marco Colombo has been appointed as Global Category Director of Potatoes. Born and raised in Italy, Marco acquired a B.A in foreign languages from the University of Milan. Later, he also completed the Advanced Leadership Program at Ashridge Business School in the United Kingdom. Professionally, Marco has spent my entire career in the food and beverage industry. In his most recent role at Out of Home Business Unit at Lamb Weston Meijer, he was responsible for all commercial activities in the regions as the Head of Southern Europe, Brazil, and the Maghreb region.