How is the quality of commodities measured today?

Today, the quality of grains, beans or seeds is assessed on a statistical basis: a small sample is extracted from the bulk and analyzed in laboratory by means of various analytical chemistry techniques. These methods are good at indicating an estimation of the average quality but fail in revealing the real quality variation within the batch. Furthermore, the way samples are collected can strongly affect the method results.

Why do I need to care about quality variations?

The quality of commodities, both biochemical (e.g. protein content, oil content) and geometrical (e.g. size, shape, color), varies greatly even within the same batch because of several factors as climate, agricultural technologies, soil conditions and genetic predisposition of the plants. As an example, we have tested several wheat samples for total protein content and we have discovered variations of even higher than +/- 5% around the mean value. Large quality variations can cause several problems such as production instabilities, not optimal use of the raw ingredients, selection of the wrong grains for breeding experiments, cost increase and time losses. As a consequence, commodities processors, traders, and breeders cannot realize the full value of their commodities.

How can the QSorter help in solving these problems?

QualySense technology offers a new and revolutionary approach to the biochemical quality control of the commodities and allows sorting of the commodities in well-defined quality classes. The innovative QualySense technology is able to transport the grains “one by one” and a very high speed in order to fulfill the capacity requirements (either multi-kg-per-hour or multi-ton-per-hour) of our customers. The grains are then passing through a measurement region where a high-resolution spectroscopy sensor is used to analyze the internal structure of the grains and identify their biochemical composition as, for example, protein content. A dedicated high-speed camera also allows the assessment of geometrical properties. Finally, a classification and sorting is performed based on threshold criteria: the grains can be separated in two or more quality classes.

Which commodities can be analyzed and the sorted by the QSorter?

We have developed applications for wheat grains, and coffee beans. More applications are in the pipeline. We will publish new applications in this section. Therefore, visit our website regularly for updates or contact us at info(at)qualysense.com

Breeding new cultivars of grains or other commodities is very complex, time-consuming and it requires a lot of experience. A typical breeding program last for about 10 years: only after this time a new cultivar can be transferred into the market. During the breeding program the grains are tested in order to analyze their sensitivity to internal or external inputs. The ultimate goal is to produce cultivars with particular quality traits, resistance to selected diseases, and able to grow in defined environments. Some of the parameters tested by the breeder are related to (1) biochemistry parameters such as protein content and moisture content, (2) geometry parameters as size and shape, and (3) appearance parameters such as color, and presence of spots. These three categories of parameters are fundamental in delivering sound and robust scientific results. Today, the selection of the grains with respect to these parameters is done either manually or by devices that are specialized for one category of parameters only. As a consequence, the tested population are low in number and do not represent the all possible variation of the parameters. QSorter is a revolutionary device that helps breeders in producing more robust cultivars of grains because it allows the simultaneous classification of the grains with respect to more parameters at the same time. All the grains of the batches under test are analyzed “one by one” and classified with respect to one or more quality parameters. Furthermore, the unique QualySense technology allows a high-speed analysis and sorting, which enables multiple tests to be performed in a very short time and considerably increase the statistical robustness of the experiments.

QualySense will soon market the QSorter EXPLORER, which allows breeders to:

• Test more parameters simultaneously;

• Fast analysis time;

• Considerably increase the statistics behind a breeding program;

• Create well defined classes with respect to one or more quality traits;

• Produce more scientific papers;

• Produce new cultivars faster.

• Reduce manual time.

For additional details and technical features, please download the QSorter Explorer brochure by clicking on the button below.

• Download PDF