Research into supply chain damage to bananas

Posted by AFN Staff Writers on 25th July 2018

INDIKA Fernando is assessing thousands of bananas as part of his PhD research into avoiding damage to the fruit on its supply chain journey.

In 2017, Indika followed 30,000 bananas across three key supply chain locations: the pack house, distribution centre, and retail outlets.

In particular, he tested sensor devices (to collect data about potential physical injuries to bananas) and made initial observations of operations in farms and pack houses.

This year Indika has been checking accelerometer data and GPS tracking devices in preparation for collecting shock and vibration data from banana trucks travelling from Queensland to Melbourne.

Indika is also in the process of inspecting around 25,000 bananas in Queensland pack houses and retail outlets in Melbourne.

He is a PhD candidate of the ARC Training Centre for Innovative Horticultural Products, located at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (a joint venture of the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government).

The ARC Training Centre for Innovative Horticultural Products is funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Research Program, Woolworths and the University of Tasmania, with contributions from industry partners and research collaborators.

More information is available at utas.edu.au/arc-training-centre and by following @InnovativeHort on Twitter.

Want to know more? Watch a video about Indika’s research

In this edition of Australian Food News