QCAP, next-generation fresh produce quality control based on multi-gas sensing

Quality controlThe project?QCAP ? Real-time interactive storage Quality Control in fresh Agro Products ? unites twelve public and private partners working on technological innovation. Together, they develop an interactive storage system for continuous quality control of fresh produce. The main output of QCAP will be an integrated system which monitors the status of the stored agro-products by sensing specific gas species emitted from the products. Complementary information will be collected in real-time, and feedbacks will be generated in order to minimize the storage losses. One sensor, multiple gasesThe heart of the QCAP system is a versatile trace gas sensor for simultaneous detection of multiple gases species emitted during ripening (ethylene, carbon dioxide), fermentation (ethanol, acetaldehyde, ethylacetate), damage (ethane) and rotting (methanol, acetone). These measurements combined can provide a deep insight into the physiological and pathological status of the stored agro-products. The complex data from the detector will be automatically analyzed, and the results will be transferred online for easy access based on cloud service. This operation will allow the end users to?keep track of the product quality, and unwanted degradation processes can be prevented at the early stage by applying specific actions. Market introductionTwo sensor prototypes have been developed for validation in commercial conditions in Belgium (pears), Germany (apples/blueberries), and the UK (potatoes). The obtained feedbacks will facilitate the improvement of the sensor system, which can be potentially applied to other kind of fresh produce in the future. The project aims at a market introduction in 2022. As the return on investment is estimated at two to three years for an average storage room, and the durability of the system is expected to be 10 years, the product will have a significant economic value for the agro-food sector. QCAP is a collaboration betweenRadboud University (NL, lead)Sensor Sense (NL)Fresh Produce Centre (NL)DLO-Food and Biobased Research (NL)Flanders Centre of Postharvest Technology (BE)Storex (BE)Association of Belgian Horticultural Cooperatives (BE)Landwirtschafskammer Niedersachsen (DE)Fruit Advisory Service of the Altes Land (DE)Cranfield University (UK)NKT Photonics (UK)Produce World Group Ltd (UK) PictureResearcher Qing Pan works on the gas detector prototypePhoto: Radboud University, The Netherlands.