Research project Quick and cost-effective quality assessment of plant-based foods

General introduction

The RASK project aims to develop sensor technology for efficient and accurate assessment of fruit, vegetable and grain quality. ILVO's role in the RASK project focuses on the use of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for rapid characterization of crops, growing substrates and soil conditioners. "Rask" is Norwegian for "fast." The project thus contributes to optimizing quality assessment in modern agricultural production and food distribution systems in Norway.

Research approach

The project uses automated methods for sample processing and artificial intelligence to generate calibration models and user-friendly software tools. At ILVO, we limit ourselves to NIRS analyses. Here NIRS is compared with Raman spectroscopy, among others, for determining nutrient uptake in strawberry plants.

Relevance/Valorization

The project could have a major positive impact on the agriculture and food industry. RASK is expected to improve and facilitate the quality assessment of fruits, vegetables and cereals through the development and application of sensor technology, models and software for predicting quality parameters. This enables producers to quickly and accurately assess the quality of their produce and reduce waste. RASK also contributes to technological advances in sensor technology, robotics and machine learning. This can lead to increased efficiency and accuracy in plant-based food analysis.

Financing

Norwegian Research Council