At the Anuga FoodTec trade fair from 24 to 27 March in Cologne, Insort presented the latest innovation in process monitoring for food production with its "Sherlock Food Analyser".
Thanks to its Chemical Imaging Technology, the "Sherlock Food Analyser" offers the possibility of quantitatively recording chemical product parameters in food production flows. This has the advantage that time-consuming quality inspections in the laboratory by way of sampling can be substituted with Sherlock's inline analytical capability.
"Approx. 80,000 measuring points per second ensure high-precision analytical results in statistical terms, which can be used directly for classifying quality, controlling processes or sorting", Matthias Jeindl, the CEO of Insort explains.
As the Chemical Imaging Technology has a sensory system based on spatial resolution, this function can also be used for very heterogeneous foodstuffs, for example in the measurement of a potato's dry matter (see screenshot below) – the water veins in the centre of the potato are clearly visible. Using this analytical data, the potato processing can be automated, the quality and the yield can be increased considerably and both the raw, incoming goods and the end product before the goods issue can be reliably and objectively classified.
Analysis as presented by the Sherlock Food Analyser: The (potato) dry matter is displayed as an average value and its distribution as standard deviation. This is represented graphically in a histogram and displayed in comparison to previous batches. Individual potatoes can be displayed in a false colour matrix in the dry matter distribution.
A comprehensive analytical instrument
The Peel Scanner function allows a cost reduction by regulating the steam peeling process of potatoes. The tried-and-tested method reduces peeling losses to a minimum.
The length and width measurement enables the product dimensions to be precisely recorded – according to the requirements, various size categories can be defined and statistics can be evaluated as output.
With the additionally available RGB camera, the colour defects and colour intensities of foodstuffs can be recorded inline, and both raw materials and end products can be classified.
Compared to other analytical instruments, the "Sherlock food analyser" is distinguished by an improved over-view of the existing quality of the raw materials, thereby optimising the use of raw materials and reducing the raw-material costs.
The "Sherlock food analyser" is also available as an upgrade for the whole "Sherlock" product family.
