As a perishable commodity, fruit has an extremely short shelf life. The data shows that the fruits produced in China will cause a loss of 25% to 30% each year during the entire circulation process with annual losses amounting to RMB 100 billion. Listed companies such as Dingdong Maicai and MISSFRESH have a gross profit margin of only about 10% all year round and they have been losing money.

If there is a way to effectively reduce losses, it will greatly improve the operating condition of fresh-food companies, and at the same time reduce the final selling price, which is of great significance for promoting the sustainable development of the fresh-food market.

How to reduce Fruit loss

Simply put, there are two ways to reduce fruit loss:

1. On the supply side, we can classify fruits according to sugar content, maturity, etc., to shorten the supply time of fruits from the production area to the market.

2. On the sales side, we can shorten the fruit sales cycle by carrying out tiered sales according to the fruit's sugar content, maturity and other indicators.

There are several stages before customers get the fruit.

Orchard: plant/pick fruits-Factory: select/grade fruits- Wholesaler: store/distribute fruits-Fruit shop: retail

Orchard stage: Fruit farmers must monitor their fruits in time if they want to increase their profits. In particular, problems such as internal dry fruits and mildew will seriously affect the quality of the fruits. Therefore, fruits need to be sold to the factory at a specific time before the fruits are mature.

Factory stage: Fruits can be effectively screened to remove diseased fruits and bad fruits. Fruits are further screened and graded according to the size, sugar content, and freshness etc., and then they are kept in cold storage and shipped in time.

Wholesale market: wholesalers need to accurately check and the quality of fruits that come from factories and sell the ripe or fast-maturing fruit in a timely manner according to the grade and maturity date.

Offline retailers: The clerk of the retail store can accurately check the quality of fruits that come from wholesalers, and then preferentially sell mature or even to-be-spoiled fruits at a discount according to their maturity.

It can be seen from the above links that the grade and maturity of fruits at each stage will directly affect the integrity of the entire circulation cycle. Therefore, how to quickly and uniformly test the grade and maturity of fruits is the key to solve the peoblem.

Fruit detection method

At present, fruit testing is divided into two types: invasive and non-invasive.

Invasive method mainly refers to squeezing fruit juice, and then measuring sugar acidity by refractive index. The disadvantage is that it is troublesome to operate and cannot detect internal qualities such as maturity and mildew.

Non-invasive method mainly refers to using spectral data and model measured by spectrometer, which can effectively calculate the sugar content, maturity, production area and other information.

In the past few decades, a large number of agricultural research institutions have used spectroscopy to analyze the internal and external information of fruits. Spectral analysis is a very mature and effective method.

In the past few decades, a large number of agricultural research institutions have used spectroscopy to analyze the internal and external information of fruits. Spectral analysis is a very mature and effective method.

However, the spectrometer on the sorting line of factory is relatively large and it can be sold at hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands; therefore, it is unacceptable for fruit farmers, wholesalers, offline retailers to use it and they still rely on random inspection of squeezed juice and experienced workers.

Portable freshness detector

SEETRUM will work with excellent fresh-food partners to solve the pain points of the fruit industry chain in an effort to effectively reduce fruit loss. We will develop a portable freshness food detector based on the GS0226 hyperspectral sensor chip.

The portable freshness detector has following features:

1. Small size: It is easy to carry with a size of no more than that of the palm.

2. Independent hardware: With independent hardware, it can realize the detection of different fruit varieties with different software modules.

3. High spectral resolution: with spectral resolution<5nm, it is capable of finely distinguishing 9-18 fruit grades.

4. Software upgrade: It can be upgraded, optimized and expanded, continuously enriching the measurable types of melons and fruits.

5. Low price: It can be used in the whole circle from farmer to consumer.

Why choose SEETRUM?

If you are new to SEETRUM, you may ask why should I choose a SEETRUM spectrometer chip? It’s a mature product, isn’t it?

As reviewed in "Science" in January, the innovative spectroscopy chip of SEETRUM is an innovative achievement in this field and it adopts CMOS technology that features high precision, low cost, and can be mass-produced.

In addition, SEETRUM is positioned as a hardware supplier of spectroscopy chips and modules. We welcome outstanding customers who have in-depth research and spectroscopy algorithms in the fresh food field to work together and empower and promote the development of the industry.

SEETRUM is committed to empowering the industry and supporting customers' efficient development by providing global customers with advanced spectroscopy chips, AI algorithms and smart perception solutions.  Led by a Special-term Professor from Changjiang Scholars Program, SEETRUM is a high-tech company that transforms scientific research achievements of Tsinghua University. SEETRUM initially created a snapshot CMOS ultra-spectroscopy chip, which features high precision, low cost and mass production. It will expand new sensing dimensions for industries such as smartphones, medical devices, machine vision, augmented reality, autonomous driving, and smart cities. SEETRUM, let spectral sensing be everywhere!