The Chinese pineapple production season is in full swing. Pineapple farmers are working hard to harvest the pineapples and put them through post-harvest selection procedures. In many pineapple production areas, including major production areas in Guangdong and Hainan, the selection procedure is still a manual process. The investment in highly-efficient, fine-tuned, automated selection equipment can significantly raise the production capability. Dennis Clock of the specialized manufacturer of pineapple selection equipment, Reemoon, and project manager Marlow Kang, recently talked about their latest product.
Before the adoption of automated pineapple selection equipment, major pineapple producers used manual labor to select, process, and package the pineapples. "Laborers used to weigh the pineapples individually, and rely on workers with years of experience to assess the product quality of individual pineapples. However, pineapples are not standardized fruits and their BRIX values or other indicators of product quality can significantly vary. Manual selection is therefore subjective. The selected pineapples still vary in terms of size, weight, and BRIX value. There is no guarantee for product quality. That is why we launched our pineapple selection equipment. We aim to help the Chinese pineapple industry simplify and improve the selection process," said Marlow.
Reemoon researched, developed, and designed their own fully automated pineapple selection and detection equipment for the Zhanjiang Pineapple Operation Center. The equipment can automatically select and pack pineapples. According to Marlow, who introduced the process, "pineapples are first placed on a conveyor belt. They pass through a stainless steel tub with water where they are washed, before cylinders lift the pineapples to a platform for manual inspection. After manual selection, the pineapples are disinfected, air-dried, and subjected to fresh-keeping treatment. Then they are weighed and the product quality is assessed. In the final stage of the selection process pineapples are packed in sealed boxes and delivered to the loading dock."
"This is also the first pineapple selection line that includes post-harvest fresh-keeping treatment. The integrated disinfectant and fresh-keeping stage of the selection line keeps the pineapples fresh for longer and effectively extends the shelf life of pineapples. The selection line can process as much as 20 tons of pineapples per hour. That is an annual capacity of around 60,000 tons," said Dennis.
In addition to the selection line in Zhanjiang, Reemoon also installed pineapple selection equipment for Hainan Pineapple Brother Co., Ltd. in February. "This selection line can process around 18 tons per hour. The equipment is primarily used to select pineapples based on weight and size, and to detect translucency, BRIX-value, and other indicators of product quality. The equipment detects translucency with an accuracy of more than 90%, and BRIX-values with an accuracy of more than 80%. And as the set of data grows, the accuracy improves," said Marlow. "Moreover, the equipment can detect black spots, which helps improve food safety for consumers who purchase pineapples. The equipment can also help pineapple growers strengthen plantation management."
"The greatest benefit of our equipment for pineapple processing factories is the improved efficiency. Manual selection requires 100 workers for 10,000 tons of pineapples. The Reemoon selection equipment only requires 30 workers to complete the selection process from beginning to end. Take the selection line at Hainan Pineapple Brother as an example, clients report a return on investment in 2-3 years. As for individual pineapple selection machines, clients can also use them for Hami melons, watermelons, mangos, and pineapples," said Marlow.
In addition to improved efficiency, and reduced costs, high-accuracy selection equipment also raises the level of standardization and improves the ratio of commercially viable products. The added value gives these pineapples a competitive advantage in the market. "Hainan Pineapple Brother is extremely satisfied with the Reemoon pineapple selection line. They primarily supply pineapples to major, high-end brands such as Pagoda, Hema Fresh, XF, Nongfu Orchard, Greenleaf Fruit, Fruit Day, and Hongjiu Fruit."
It is worth noting that Reemoon continues to improve their equipment and also maintains an online platform that gathers relevant data. Their big data approach allows for real-time understanding of conditions during collection, selection, and analysis, which reduces costs and improves efficiency. This process of data gathering provides the raw data required for optimization of the pineapple supply chain.
For more information:
Dennis Clock
Jiangxi Reemoon Technology Holdings Co., Ltd.
Website: https://reemoon.com/
E-mail: [email protected]