The Impact Recording Device (IRD) is the worldwide standard for locating and measuring damaging impacts to your fruits, vegetables and food products.

From the field to the processed package and all points between, the IRD will identify sources of damage in your harvesting, handling, packing and processing systems.

BENEFITS

• Reduce bruise and shatter damage to fruits, vegetables and other food products.
• Take advantage of quality incentives, bonuses and other merit compensation.
• Improve produce appearance and customer and buyer acceptability.
• Reduce postharvest respiration and disease losses.
• Improve storage or shelf life of vegetables and fruits.
• Accurately and reliably calibrate handling equipment performance across locations, suppliers or seasons.
• Tune harvesting, handling and packaging systems in advance of produce harvest or receipt.
• Draw on the wealth of research information for various types of produce using the IRD (formerly called the Instrumented Sphere)

Using internationally patented technology, the IRD identifies the location and severity of impacts delivered to valuable produce as it is handled. The IRD is transferred through machinery and equipment in situ, with the flow of fruit or produce, to experience the same bumps and bruises. Impact data is collected, stored on-board and later uploaded to a PC for interpretation and report generation. IRD software includes damage boundaries for various types of produce for comparison standards. Severity of impacts is calculated using both maximum acceleration (G) and velocity (m/s) for each impact. Why are both acceleration and velocity needed to determine bruise probability and severity?

Impacts can be monitored during loading and unloading, mechanical or hand harvesting, flume or mechanical conveying, washing, waxing, processing and packing procedures to determine location and severity of costly damage and bruise.