Articles
How Do Postharvest Microbial Treatments Extend Fresh Produce Shelf Life?
Fruits and vegetables harbor a microbiome on their surfaces that interacts with them to influence fruit quality. Fruit/plant-microbial interactions can be used in postharvest management to control spoilage microbes, thereby improving fresh produce quality and shelf-life. These microbial-plant/fruit interactions include competition, mycoparasitism, volatile secretions, microbial biofilms, quorum sensing, and systemic resistance induction. Postharvest spoilage, quality… Continue reading…
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How Often Should I Recalibrate My F-750 or F-751?
If you rely on an F-750 or F-751 Quality Meter for harvest timing, intake checks, ripeness management, or quality control, F-750 recalibration should be treated as part of your measurement routine, not as an afterthought. These Felix Instruments meters are designed for fast, non-destructive produce quality assessment, but like any NIR-based instrument, the quality of… Continue reading…
Can I Build My Own NIR Model, or Should I Use Felix’s built in models?
An NIR model is only as useful as the data behind it. That is the main point to keep in mind when deciding whether to build your own calibration or use Felix Instruments’ built-in models. In fresh produce, a good NIR model has to deal with cultivar variation, growing region, harvest timing, dry matter range,… Continue reading…
What’s the Difference Between F-900 and F-950 Gas Analyzers?
When comparing the F-900 and F-950 gas analyzers, the simplest way to separate them is this: the F-900 is built first around highly sensitive ethylene measurement, while the F-950 is built for fast, portable measurement of ethylene, CO2, and O2 together. Both instruments come from Felix Instruments and both serve produce, storage, ripening, research, and… Continue reading…
3 Mistakes Technicians Make When Using Gas Analyzers
Gas analyzer accuracy plays a central role in postharvest handling, storage management, and quality control. Whether you are monitoring ethylene levels in ripening rooms or checking oxygen and carbon dioxide in controlled atmosphere storage, even small errors can lead to measurable losses. Despite experience in the field, many technicians still make avoidable mistakes that impact… Continue reading…
6 Ways to Extend Instrument Life in Harsh Environments
Working in challenging conditions is part of the job for many industries, especially in agriculture, postharvest handling, and food science. Whether you are dealing with dust, moisture, temperature swings, or rough handling, protecting your equipment becomes essential. Extending instrument life in harsh environments is not just about saving money. It is about maintaining data accuracy,… Continue reading…
Signs Your Gas Sensor Needs Replacement
If you rely on a handheld analyzer for postharvest work, packaging checks, storage rooms, or ripening control, gas sensor replacement is not something to push off until the instrument completely fails. In practice, sensor problems usually show up gradually. Readings get less stable, calibration gets harder to hold, response times slow down, and the numbers… Continue reading…