3 research outputs found
Influence of parameters of drying on laser induced diffuse reflectance of banana discs
Banana discs of 1 cm thickness were immersed
into different antioxidant solutions to slow down
potentially disturbing discoloration during drying. Samples
were randomly split into 8 groups according to the 2^p
experimental design. Two antioxidant solutions with
1.66% and 4.59% ascorbic acid, two levels of drying
temperature with 50掳C and 80掳C, two levels of drying time
with 6h and 8h were used or adjusted. Laser diodes of
seven wavelengths (532, 635, 650, 780, 808, 850 and 1064
nm) were selected to illuminate the surface and light
penetration pattern was evaluated on the basis of radial
profiles. Profiles acquired at three wavelengths (532, 635
and 650 nm) were found to respond sensitively to adjusted
parameters. As a result of drying, intensity decay was
observed to move closer to incident point. Significant
effect (p<0.01) of temperature, drying time and their
interaction was found on extracted descriptive attributes of
intensity profiles: full width at half maximum (FWHM),
distance of inflection point (DIP) and slope of logarithmic
decay (SLD). Beyond their presence, antioxidant
concentration was neutral factor without significant
contribution to the model. Results were in agreement with
reference spectroscopic measurements, especially with
NDVI index. Promising results suggest that evaluated
method might be suitable for monitoring purposes during
drying of fruits
Application of digital solutions to improve the operation of short food supply chains
Short food supply chains (SFSCs) are today widely promoted due to the positive impact on social, economic and environmental sustainability. However, short chains face several specific challenges (e.g., meeting the requirements of consumers and ensuring optimal operations). The application of innovative solutions and digitalisation can support the actors of SFSCs to achieve these goals.
Solutions and methods were collected based on the innovativeness and applicability of SFSCs. Systematic analysis of the needs of SFSCs for technological and non-technological innovations was carried out by partners of the SmartChain project. Based on the research, recommendations were made for the participating SFSCs regarding potential innovations.
A significant proportion of the identified solutions have digital elements that were collectively assessed as a suitable solution in the case of the studied SFSCs. The current work provides an overview of the potential implementation of the collected innovative solutions having digital elements and addresses the primary needs and issues of SFSCs where the application is relevant. Highlighted areas of performance are marketing, communication, packaging and labelling, and logistics