Coffee growers' cooperatives Cooxupé and Minasul formalized an agreement on Tuesday (24) with Singapore startup ProfilePrint to have access to equipment that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to classify coffee beans, a project that promises to bring more transparency to business.
ProfilePrint is an AI-driven ingredient quality platform powered by a patented food digital identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) technology. ProfilePrint synthesizes complex molecular data from ingredient samples into digital fingerprints, quickly predicting their identity and quality, helping agribusinesses buy and sell better.
Depending on the quality, the price of green coffee can vary by around R$200 per 60 kg bag. Even intermediate quality beans (hard, with a weaker “cup”) can cost R$100 per bag more than those of lower quality, the so-called riados, variations that reinforce the importance of an assertive classification.
The use of ProfilePrint’s blender-sized grading machine, which uses Digital Food Identity as a Service (IDaaS) technology, should help in this process. However, it will not replace traditional coffee tasters (Q Graders), those professionals trained to certify the quality of the product. ProfilePrint aims to bring more consistency to the grading process.
ProfilePrint's IDaaS technology, already used by trading companies such as Louis Dreyfus Company, Olam Agrícola and Sucafina for coffee classification in Brazil, allows the definition of the quality of the bean and the flavor profile, whether the drink is smoother, for example, by synthesizing complex molecular data from the analyzed samples.
According to the company, ProfilePrint's equipment is capable of detecting non-visual defects in the product, a challenge faced by the food industry. Such defects, which include light fermentation or early-stage mold, can harm the quality and flavor of the coffee.
This system aims to speed up the classification process. The taster can focus on products with higher added value. The machine performs a sorting process, helping the work in cooperatives, for example, which classify thousands of samples per day.
The Singapore startup's machine has been on the market for two years now, in more than 60 countries. There are more than 80 units distributed throughout various parts of the world, five of which are in operation in Brazil.
For the executive, with the cooperatives entering the process, producers will be able to have more information at hand to negotiate with buyers.
ProfilePrint also said it is launching another device that promises to expand its analysis to other processed food products. ProfilePrint CEO and founder Alan Lai said the technology increases efficiency and streamlines food industry processes, making them more sustainable.
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