In an Australian first, a farm in Western Australia is using infrared technology to scan for unbruised avocados
Whether it’s a gentle pinch of the tip, or a full-handed feel of the base, touching an avocado before you buy it is a commonplace grocery store habit. But Suzie Delroy, a second-generation farmer based just outside of Pemberton in southern Western Australia, dreams of the day avocado shopping becomes contactless. “We always do the best we can to control the avocado, but by far the biggest bruising occurs when people go and squeeze them.”
Her assessment is backed up by a 2015 report from Australian Horticultural Innovation that involved, among other experiments, using an e-glove sensor to see how hard shoppers were squeezing the fruit. The report found “bruise severity at the retail store display, and from the consumers’ home, was significantly higher than at all preceding sampling points”. Avocados Australia also states that the average avocado is touched by four would-be shoppers before it’s bought.
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