Bühler has launched a portfolio of Sortex optical sorters to increase nut yields, combat aflatoxin and offer easy use to nut processors globally. The new portfolio is set to solidify Bühler’s status as the market leader in nut processing machinery and provides an optimistic outlook on a sustainable future for the industry.

There is a wide range of complex challenges that the nut industry faces. For example, the expectation for quality has never been higher; consumers and retailers have zero tolerance for the presence of mycotoxins, a poisonous chemical released from certain strains of fungi that can contaminate nuts. Foreign materials such as sticks, stones and shells can also create unsafe food, states Bühler. 

Alongside this, consumers expect nuts that are uniform in size and shape, with no insect bites or other cosmetic damage.

Overcoming challenges within the nut industry 
Bühler believes the challenges are not only related to safety and quality. 

For years, the market has seen the cost of raw materials increase, forcing processors to spend more on the production process. On top of this, with global environmental initiatives, governments are cracking down on the land and water usage of nut plants.

Bühler’s optical sorting portfolio has been designed to counter the challenges of the nut industry, setting the standards for quality while reducing waste and increasing yields to offer the advanced sustainability and quality that processors require. 

High performing sorters 
The Sortex H SpectraVision is Bühler’s highest-performing optical sorter on the market. A color sorter, and a specialist in blanched and natural kernels, the Sortex H brings up to 50% higher reject concentration, meaning processors can provide a higher quality product to the market while also reducing waste. 

The H machine also brings high capacity with full-color cameras and LEDs with triple the light of other sorters to make challenging defect detection a thing of the past. 

Minimizing toxic contamination
The Sortex LumoVision is Bühler’s answer to mycotoxin contamination. LumoVision is marketed as a breakthrough in sorting technology that will minimize toxic contamination in nuts and improve yield by identifying and removing cancer-causing, aflatoxin-infected products. 

The Sortex LumoVisioncan reduce the aflatoxin level by up to 90% (as indicated by industrial trials). 

Meanwhile, Bühler’s Sortex J SpectraVision brings high-level color sorting by sorting five tons per hour per module and utilizing the MerlinAI engine, the Bühler J is built for performance and ease of use. 

Sortex N is a specialist pre-cleaner for both natural and in-shell nuts. Combining Bühler’s time-proven shell-detection cameras – BioCam and OptiCam – with a new sorting platform, the Sortex N brings efficient shell and critical defect removal at up to 20 tons per hour. 

Finally, the Sortex Monitoring System (SMS), Bühler’s cloud-based data capture software, provides processors with essential metrics and data for peak performance anywher in the world and on any device. SMS alerts processors to any faults in the process line, enabling a quick response and saving money from lost production time and errors.