Pineapples are unique not only for their flavor – but also for their physical qualities and fragility. Therefor they have very specific needs during harvesting and post-harvesting stages.
Eshet Eilon has special expertise in dealing with fruits and vegetables that have a special shape, exactly like pineapples. The company has developed several advanced technologies for sorting pineapples, disinfecting them and even improving their peeling results.
Pineapple Sorting Using Optical System
In order to sort pineapples according to a specific quality (e.g. with/without a crown) and to exclude the damaged fruits, there is need for recognition of several pineapple qualities, including color, size, shape and density.
Eshet Optica is an advanced optical sizer produced by Eshet Eilon, which is capable of sorting pineapples in an effective way. Through cameras that include vision sensors, the device collects data on each pineapple that is placed on the frame. The information collected is then transferred to the software for the analysis of different parts and qualities of the fruit, including color, size, crown, diameter, length, shape and density.
The device works with great efficiency, moving up to 180 fruits per minute per lane. With its high sensitivity, the machine is able to recognize high and low color separation, and provide a detailed analysis on the fruit size, length, shape and crown appearance. Once the data are processed by the Eshet Eilon software, the machine automatically separates fruits, according to the sorting needs. Eshet Eilon is working on advancing the pineapple sorting technology even more, including recognition of long necks, sunburn and translucency through the use of near infrared analysis.
Green Disinfection for Pineapples
Eshet Eilon, in collaboration with the Volcani Institute (Israel Ministry of Agriculture) has developed a patented, 100% green, dry steam disinfection machine for fruits and vegetables, including pineapples. The use of a unified dry heat stream applied on the pineapples has strong antimicrobial effects, without damaging the fruit. This is greatly effective before the peeling process.
Improving the Results of Pineapple Peeling
Eshet Eilon has also developed a unique diameter and weight sorting machine for pineapples – for best peeling results. The technology maximizes the efficiency of the peeling machine, and minimizes fruit loss.
Contact us for more details on our technologies for pineapples
