BE Fresh has got a special Quality Control Team. All fruit and vegetables coming in our warehouse are checked and inspected for quality. All Quality Controllers have followed detailed product training courses and know exactly how to inspect the product. In addition to the knowledge they also use various measuring instruments to determine the quality. Please take a look at the daily equipment of our Quality Controllers.
Penetrometer
A penetrometer is an instrument to measure the firmness of the fruit. Actually it measures the force required to press a blunt. It is mainly used with apples and pears, but is also widely used for the measurement of Ready To Eat (RTE) mangoes and avocados.
How does it work in practice?
- On the long side of the fruit, a piece of skin is scraped away
- The right probe is gradually penetrated into the fruit (1.5cm deep)
- The meter shows a certain value in Kg or Lb
- The higher the number on the meter is, the firmer the fruit is
- A couple of samples are taken in order to measure the average hardness of a lot
Brixmeter
A brix meter or refractometer is an instrument to measure the amount of sugar in fruit. The value of the sugar content is expressed in degrees. This piece of equipment can be used for almost all fruit, we often use it for cherries, other soft fruit and various exotics.
How to use it?
- Cut the fruit
- Squeeze the fruit to collect enough juice drips into the lens of the penetrometer
- Turn on the instrument and it will measure the Brix level in the liquid
- Take a couple of samples in order to measure the average sugar content of a batch