To address food waste issues, South Korean agricultural experts have innovated a method utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate the quality of stored onions. The Rural Development Administration (RDA) disclosed this advancement on November 18, highlighting its potential to mitigate losses in onion storage. Traditionally, onions are stored for up to eight months, during which decay rates can escalate to 25-40% due to the spread of spoilage from one onion to another.
Conventional assessment methods, which are based on visual inspections and manual sorting, fall short of identifying internal defects. The novel approach, a collaboration between the RDA and Jeonbuk National University, employs MRI alongside shape standardization rates and RGB color analysis for a comprehensive assessment of an onion's internal quality. This technique specifically targets the detection of early sprouting, a precursor to decay, by analyzing shadow differences in MRI images with a "sprout occurrence index-based quality chart."
Kim Seong Min, a professor at Jeonbuk National University involved in the research, emphasized the uniqueness of this technology in integrating post-harvest physiology with image interpretation. Despite the technological breakthrough, hurdles in commercialization and the need for specialized training persist. Lim Jong-guk, from the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, underscored the necessity of collaboration with equipment manufacturers and field verification to foster the adoption of this technology in optimizing onion storage and minimizing decay.
Source: The Korea Bizwire