No more sour grapes?
NZPA-AAP Canberra Imagine never biting into a sour apple or orange again. With a new device developed by the Basic Research Institute of Hitachi in Japan, it will soon be possible to choose fruit from the markets by sweetness rather than by size or brand. According to the latest “Japan Agrinfo Newsletter” on Japan’s food and agriculture, the Hitachi Institute’s
new device — the Sugar Sensor — will be able to measure the sweetness of apples, melons, and other fruits. “The Sugar Sensor, which will not be put into commercial use for some time, can measure the sweetness of fruits by applying a microwave to their skins,” the newsletter reported. “In developing the device, researchers at the Hitachi Institute discovered that the sweeter a piece of fruit is, the weaker the microwave
becomes as it passes through the fruit.” Until now the sweetness of fruit has been judged in the market place only by appearance, brand, or by the district it came from. All this will be changed, however, with the advent of the Sugar Sensor. The classification of fruits by size is now automated and the Hitachi device is also expected to go a long way towards setting appropriate prices for fruits based on sweetness.
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Press, 7 August 1985, Page 39
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208No more sour grapes? Press, 7 August 1985, Page 39
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