SPAIN - Fresh innovations are always on the radar for those in the produce industry, but this year especially, new products and advancements have aided companies across the industry as we all faced new challenges. This is especially true for packing houses across Spain as they faced not only COVID-19 related issues but unfavorable weather, as well. Luckily, many of the growers were able to partner with UNITEC to implement its Cherry Vision 3.0 in order to make the cherry season run smoothly.

“Cherry Vision 3.0 technology has been a great ally throughout the cherry harvesting and packing season. A complicated year due to the weather conditions of the season and the exceptional situation of the coronavirus pandemic,” explained Miguel Vicente Juan, Owner and General Manager of Frutas Mifra. “It would have been very complicated to sort manually, with a considerable increase in both harvesting and cherry processing costs. We were pleasantly surprised by how the Cherry Vision 3.0 system can detect defects, viewing even the smallest apical damage, as well as most defects that affect the integrity of the cherry."

With the ever-present possibility of weather changes for growers in the region, having an ally like UNITEC makes dealing with potential outcomes that much easier.

According to a press release, as many cherry packers and growers deal with damaged product from weather events, Cherry Vision 3.0 can help weed out those abnormal cherries with its high-resolution cameras that can view 100 percent of the cherry, and can detect even the smallest defects. Therefore maintaining not only quality, but saving time as well.

“This latest evolution of Cherry Vision has really given Rio Cinca a further improvement in quality assurance,” said Oscar Ortiz, Sales Director, Rio Cinca. “Although it has been a critical season due to the heavy rains the result that UNITEC quality sorting technology has helped us achieve was to be rated by our customers as the best Spanish company in terms of quality.”

In providing automated sorting, Cherry Vision also minimizes food waste and saves money for growers and packers as they don’t have to pay the high cost of having the products being manually sorted. The equipment is so advanced that it can even sort cherries into different classes, and can target different consumer groups for each product.

Implementing an automated system for sorting cherries also helps in terms of food safety, as well as efficiency. Those who were once spending time sorting fruit can now help with harvesting, while also being able to maintain distancing as they no longer have to be in close quarters as they sort, thereby guaranteeing safety for consumers and employees.

“The improvements brought by the evolution of Cherry Vision in its 3.0 version are more than satisfactory, especially in a delicate year like this,” remarked Jordi Mora Badía, Owner of Frutas David Packing House. “The improvement of the defect viewer can detect damage to cherries that would otherwise have to be visually sorted by the staff. All this translates into production savings as well as significant advantage in terms of harvesting.”

One of the other major benefits Spanish cherry growers and packers have seen through their partnership with UNITEC is an increased level of trust between supply-side partners. With higher levels of quality control, retailers who purchase from the cherry packers are more likely to receive consistent quality products. This in turn translates to decreased complaints and increased sales as both retailers and consumers are receiving exceptional products.

“The chance to keep correct prices and avoid complaints, even in a very complicated year, and to harvest all the fruit. Otherwise we would not have been able to harvest, because we could not have separated the ‘good’ fruits from the ‘bad’ ones,” explained Carlos Llambrich, General Manager, Llamafruit Cherry Packing House.

While the pandemic combines with other outside challenges faced across the produce industry, it is always great to see companies joining forces to overcome. What exciting innovations will continue to impact growers across not only the cherry category, but the produce industry as a whole?

AndNowUKnow will continue to be here to answer that question and more.

UNITEC