Access Machine Case History:

FOOD PROCESSING

Customer Background:

Agriculture is a major industry in Florida. In 1992, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was organized along more functional lines. Several Divisions were established to direct the functions, including the Division of Fruit and Vegetables. The Department of Agriculture is housed in several locations all over Florida. The Division of Fruit and Vegetables is headquartered in Winter Haven, FL. This Division has three operating units: the Office of the Director, the Bureau of Citrus Inspection and the Bureau of Vegetable Inspection. The Division's services range from inspecting fresh produce for sale or shipment to certifying canned citrus juices through contractual agreements with the USDA's Processed Foods Branch.

(Note: Company background information was obtained from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services web page located at www.dos.state.fl.us/fgils/dacs/.)

Customer Needs:

The Department of Agriculture's Division of Fruit and Vegetables needed a way to test the quality of citrus, in particular they needed:

• Automated assessment of oranges, grapefruit, and other citrus.
• A system for data collection and reporting available at the Division's offices in Winter Haven.

The Access Machine Solution:

The Technical Section of the Bureau of Citrus Inspection monitors the operation and accuracy of the automated citrus juice evaluation systems. These units automatically determine the acid percentage, degree of Brix (sugar content), juice content and pounds solids per box before printing this information on official inspection certificates. This system uses a personal computer for operator interface, data processing, and communicating with the remote host. It has a multitasking operating system and uses the AccessPoint software as a process monitoring and control package. The process control package is an intermediary between the PLC and the relational database. Its primary task is to calculate results from raw PLC data. The database and process control packages operate together seamlessly.

The Testing Process:

The test system collects and assigns data on each incoming truckload of fruit. A random sample of fruit is gathered and routed to the state laboratory. Juice is extracted from the fruit, weighed and a projected amount of juice and solids per truckload is calculated. One gallon of juice is vacuum drawn into a flask and is gravity fed into the brix and acid test units. Both tests rely on weight measurement, are performed simultaneously and take about three minutes. All filling, cleaning and testing controls, all weight, pH and temperature gatherings are fully automatic.

• Simplified testing - improved test results.
• Accessibility - Data is accessed more easily, remote trouble shooting is possible.
• Reduced costs - no lab test program created from scratch.
• Modular - Off the shelf products allow easy, low cost migration to more powerful components if needed, expandability.