Nondestructive Inspection of Fruits for Pits and Foreign Objects

The presence of pits in fruits produces obvious risk, increases industry liability, and reduces product quality in the eyes of the consumer. Recent university research has shown that magnetic resonance (MR) techniques are capable of detecting pits in fruits. The MR methods can be made quickly, and therefore, are applicable to high volume processing. During the same time period, Quantum Magnetics developed an inexpensive set of MR electronics which plugs into the bus of an IBM-compatible PC. In this program, we propose to demonstrate the feasibility of low-cost MR inspection of food. An MR magnet and detection coil suitable for pit detection in cherries will be designed and tested. The method will then be applied to other fruits, and to the detection of damage and decay.