From sampling to full control in the fruit sector

OneThird is taking the next step in quality control within the fresh produce chain. The company from Enschede has received a €1 million Innovation Credit from RVO. With this funding, it is developing a spectral imaging solution that can analyze crates containing multiple punnets of fruit in a single scan. The technology is designed for use in high-volume distribution centers.

Step toward inspection at scale

Where current systems mainly assess individual products, the focus is now shifting to batch-level analysis. The new solution scans entire crates with multiple punnets of fruit at once. Within seconds, the system evaluates internal quality and predicts shelf life.

This enables a move from sampling to full batch inspection. This is expected to result in more reliable quality assessments per shipment. “Where our current scanner already represents a major improvement over traditional methods, spectral imaging is the next step,” says Marco Snikkers, founder of OneThird.

Application in distribution centers

The technology is developed for environments where speed and scale are essential. In approximately three seconds, the system scans a crate with ten punnets, without any manual interaction.

When used in an inline process, only the punnets that do not meet specifications are rejected. This prevents entire shipments from being unnecessarily discarded. According to the company, this can reduce waste and improve operational efficiency. Simulations and customer interviews indicate that the technology can reduce waste per batch by an average of 20 percent.

Greater control over quality and shelf life

In addition to quality measurement, the solution provides insight into shelf life at batch level. In practice, this can vary significantly. Strawberries, for example, may have a shelf life ranging from three to thirteen days.

With this information, growers and distributors can make more targeted decisions. The technology also makes quality control objective, reproducible, and traceable. This supports agreements across the supply chain and can increase shipment acceptance rates. The spectral imaging solution is expected to become available in 2027 for products including strawberries and blueberries.

Onethird.io