High-Pressure Water-Jet Technology as a Method of Improving the Quality of Post-Harvest Processing.

In tropical countries, the processing steps of peeling and cutting are carried out mainly by hand under ideal conditions for microbial growth. For the production of high-quality, safe products, procedures, which minimize the direct contact between product and personnel, must be applied. A pilot lot was developed that combines robotics, water jet, and image processing techniques in an integrated process of peeling and cutting tropical fruits for minimizing losses in the process and increase hygiene standards required. The present results show the potential of the system to improve the quality of post-harvesting processing of agricultural products such as fruit and vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]