Bitter Almond Detection and Eradication Operational Group: Project to improve the competitiveness of the national almond sector

Type Operational group
Execution 2018 -2020
Assigned Budget 574.000,00 €
Scope Supraautonómico
Autonomous community Andalucía; Aragón; Balears, Illes; Cantabria; Castilla y León; Castilla - La Mancha; Cataluña; Comunitat Valenciana; Extremadura; Madrid, Comunidad de; Murcia, Región de
Main source of financing PEPAC 2014-2020
Project website https://sinalmendraamarga.es/

Description

Development of systems that can be used on an agronomic, productive, and industrial scale to detect and eliminate bitter almonds.

Objectives

Field agronomic evaluation of bitter trees and their geolocation for possible elimination. Confirmation using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) technology and use of novel hydrogen cyanide kits.
Development of discriminant models with NIRS laboratory instruments that allow separating bitter and sweet almonds in batches at the reception entrance in almond cooperatives.
Validation of prototypes with NIRS technology that allow the detection and elimination of bitter almonds individually, grain by grain (one by one), from batches of sweet almonds in the production line.

Results

Map with the geolocation of trees susceptible to producing bitter almonds. Use of portable NIR equipment and hydrocyanic kits as a tool for detecting bitter trees in the field.
Discriminative model using laboratory NIR equipment and validation of a new NIR spectroscopy prototype, currently in the experimental phase, for the detection of bitter almonds at the reception or hulling plant.
Prototype based on NIR-Hyperspectral technology for grain-by-grain detection of bitter almonds on an industrial scale.

Contact information

Coordinator/entity name: Almond and Hazelnut Exporters Association of Spain (ALMENDRAVE)
Coordinator/entity email: almendrave@almendrave.com

Beneficiaries

Agrupacion exportadores almendra y avellana España (ALMENDRAVE)
Asociación española organizadores OPFH frutos secos y algarrobas (AEOFRUSE)
Asociación nacional descascaradores almendra (DESCALMENDRA).Crisol de frutos secos SAT (CRISOL)
Arboreto S.A.T
ltda.
Unio corporacion alimentaria (UNIO)
Borges agricultural &amp
Industrial nuts (BAIN)
Mañan sociedad cooperativa

Outsourced

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