A new value-added hyperspectral sensor-based system is designed to enhance potato sorting capabilities, allowing processors to minimize waste. Pairing this “chemical imaging” (CIT) technology with software and algorithms gives processors the ability to evaluate the potato’s chemical composition including the presence of sugar ends, dry matter and the percent of solids.
Chemical imaging has the potential to solve a variety of processing and quality challenges. Detecting invisible defects such as sugar ends before cooking can help minimize an issue many processors confront. Chemical imaging technology can also help processors analyze the chemical composition of incoming potatoes to optimize blanching and frying for total solids utilization. Extremely accurate foreign material detection is another benefit of chemical imaging, because it provides extremely precise measurement of a product’s chemical composition.