Produce World Pioneers Internal Defect Detection in Onions
Produce World Rustler, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of onions and other alliums, will be the first company in the UK to install Near Infra-Red (NIR) technology for detecting internal defects in onions. Working in conjunction with MAF, the company which provided its grader, Produce World Rustler will be trialing the ground-breaking detection system as part of its ongoing continuous improvement campaign.
Andrew Holding, business unit director for Produce World Rustler, says: “This is an exciting development that has the potential to further improve the quality of the onions which we supply to our retail customers. We are always looking for ways to improve performance, and over the past few years the Produce World Group has made a number of substantial capital investments designed to increase efficiency and sustainability.”
The company has been monitoring the progress of this technology for some time, and it was always its intention to retrofit such a system to its MAF grader. NIR technology has been used for many years to detect internal defects in fruit, and Produce World Rustler was involved in trials on onions as long ago as 2007.
“Most recently we sent samples for testing in France on a prototype of the machine which we are installing and we were impressed with the results,” he adds. “By definition internal defects are impossible to detect. As a result of using the very best growers, such defects only occur on a small percentage of the crop. However, a reduction in this figure will enable us to further improve quality and customer satisfaction.”
Produce World Rustler works with leading growers in the UK and overseas to ensure year round supply to its customers. The company is part of Produce World Group, one of the largest expert growers and suppliers of high quality fresh vegetables in Europe.
In addition to Produce World Rustler, other Produce World Group companies include Produce World Solanum, Produce World IFP, Produce World RBO, Produce World Marshalls and Growing Trust with Las Lomas (joint venture).
