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Why Grade Fruit and Veg? When it comes to post-harvest management, proper grading of vegetables and fruits are important for many reasons. Grading ensures quality, prevents waste, and builds a relationship of trust between the buyer and the seller. Grading of the vegetables is done based on the physical characteristics such as weight, shape, colour, size, freedom from diseases etc. Grading can be either manual or automated. Different types of vegetable grading equipment are used for automated grading of both vegetables and fruits. Consumer Demand As buyers are becoming more quality conscious each day, it is important that the fruits and vegetables are properly graded before they reach the buyers' market. The grading starts right after harvesting, and continues at the fruit and vegetable processing centres. How is Grading Done? For example, three general grades are applied to all fruits and vegetables meant to be exported to international markets. These grades are Extra Class, Class 1, and Class 2. The products belonging to the Extra Class possess superior qualities in color and shape and come with almost no internal defect that can change the flavour and texture of the fruits at a later stage. A 5% error tolerance is allowed for Extra Class materials. The Class 1 products are also of superior quality, but here a 10% error tolerance is allowed, and the fruits are allowed to have very minor defects in colours, shape, and minor skin blemishes. Moreover, all of class 1 products need not necessarily be packaged. The Class 2 products may have some internal or external defects and are generally meant for short distance or local markets. The products are deemed fit for consumption while fresh. Automation by Use of Fruit and Vegetable Grading Equipment Vegetable grading equipment or an automatic fruit grading machines assist in automatic grading of fruits and vegetables. When the harvest is large, manual grading can take too much time, and this can affect the timely transportation of the products. These machines are typically used in the fruit processing centres. Most of these machines are equipped to grade both fruits and vegetables and are widely used for grading pears, lemons, apples, onions, carrots, and other vegetables and fruits. The grading equipment does not only ensure fast grading, but also improve precision and accuracy regarding weight and other factors. The products may still need some preliminary manual grading to determine diseases, internal defects, and colors, though. The advantage with vegetable grading equipment is that there is little measurement errors, increased output and they are also very reliable. For more information about vegetable production see here
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