Optical sorter for peanuts

Replacing traditional manual sorting methods with a machine has enabled Japan’s Inaba Peanuts, a well-known food producer, to improve quality and yield, as well as solve the problem of labour shortages.

Inaba Peanuts produces more types of food than its name suggests. Established as a maker of rice crackers in 1918, the business began to specialise in processing peanuts in 1947. It now also produces snacks such as almonds, cashews, walnuts, chestnuts, Japanese dried plums and fried beans.

Inaba’s almonds and cashews became so popular that the company faced two challenges. The first was to increase output to keep up with demand. However, production rates were restricted by bottlenecks due to manual sorting.

The second was to reduce variations in product quality, but the traditional method of manual sorting made consistency difficult to achieve.

Inaba’s president and CEO YoIchi Ogura found solutions to both these challenges when he attended FOOMA JAPAN, the international food machinery and technology exhibition, in 2017.

Visiting the stand of TOMRA Food, Ogura said he quickly realised that TOMRA’s sorting machines could help Inaba achieve higher production volumes and consistent product quality. What’s more, TOMRA’s sorters could help Inaba reduce food waste and improve yield. “This is important not only for business efficiency but because consumers increasingly expect food producers to adopt sustainable business practices.”