Australian mango industry promotes instruments for quality testing

In the July 2016 edition of Mango Matters—a quarterly publication released by the Australian Mango Industry Association (AMIA)—CEO Robert Gray asserted the importance of “measuring and reporting on eating quality [in mangoes] (as measured by brix or dry matter),” and the advantage of making these measurements using near-infrared (NIR) technology.

NIR instruments, specifically the NIRvana—a handheld “gun” that rapidly measures quality metrics like dry matter—have been employed on Australian mango farms since the late 1990’s as a way of determining mango maturity and pinpointing ideal harvest time.

Validation studies with the NIRvana’s follow-on instrument, the F-750 Produce Quality Meter by Felix Instruments – Applied Food Science, were conducted earlier this year by a group of Central Queensland University researchers, including Dr. Kerry Walsh. Results of these studies showed “that using NIR technology to measure eating quality (as measured by dry matter) will be as effective as using a refractometer to measure brix.”

As the southern hemisphere gears up for mango season, the AMIA is “looking to the industry to support the implementation” of the F-750 Produce Quality Meter in order to bolster their success in the 2016 season. Faster, more reliable measurements using NIR technology will help ensure a higher price for Australian mangoes no matter where they land!

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