Lack of knowledge, as well as skills, is an issue throughout the supply
chain too, Mr Stefanelli explains. “Due to costs of production the problems start way farther up the chain, in the field. Pickers are becoming more and more unskilled,” he adds. “People in the fresh produce departments of retailers have very little knowledge of how the product should be handled, presented, stored and even less when it is ripe enough to give the consumer a positive experience.”
chain too, Mr Stefanelli explains. “Due to costs of production the problems start way farther up the chain, in the field. Pickers are becoming more and more unskilled,” he adds. “People in the fresh produce departments of retailers have very little knowledge of how the product should be handled, presented, stored and even less when it is ripe enough to give the consumer a positive experience.” While employing unskilled workers is a ‘must’ from an economic point of view, it becomes harder to control quality and freshness of produce at the retailer, according to Mr Stefanelli.It makes no difference if consumers can differentiate between good and bad quality produce, if only half of what’s available in stores is of acceptable quality, Mr Stefanelli says. “That kind of removes the choice anyway and retailers would not adopt it due to excessive wastage.”
Consumer Education needed to maximize SCiO potential
Informative workshops to educate retailers and consumers about when fresh produce is ready to eat could help, Mr Stefanelli believes. “Without fliers, signs or some adequate information consumers won’t understand what they’re reading on the device anyway.” Every fruit or vegetable variety will have a different reading to signal the same result, so understanding of the numbers delivered is as fundamental as the technology itself, he explains. “There is where I am working mostly, trying to make sense of the numbers and make them workable for and by everybody.”
Mr Stefanelli’s work with the Victorian Government also involves developing and importing a device, known as a DA Meter, which growers use to measure ripeness without causing any damage to their crops. It is mainly used for stonefruit, and not specifically aimed at consumers, however uses similar technology to SCiO, and is a spectrophotometer - but uses a narrow spectrum rather than broad spectrum to give readings.