Malting companies depend on the germination capacity of the barley they buy. At the moment, their quality control relies on a time-consuming and labour-intensive procedure that involves germinating seed samples.

Meluna Research is developing a non-invasive smart multi-sensor system to predict grain quality in a matter of minutes. Based on four photonic technologies, the system will examine key seed properties simultaneously to forecast germination capacity, shelf life and dormancy – optimising quality control and resource efficiency and saving time.

The Dutch SME is collaborating with Malterie De Bretagne in France, an innovative cooperative responsible for the production of organic malting barley.

Meluna anticipates that the solution can also be adapted for use in the fruit and vegetable and dairy industry to monitor compliance with quality, environmental and other requirements.

Final report summary
All milestones were achieved, including the project description, planning, proof of concept and market survey.

The intention was to compare organic and non-organic barley and malt. Unfortunately, it was not possible to obtain non-organic barley within the timeframe. Despite a limited number of barley and malt samples, we were still able to achieve our deliverables related to the efficiency of barley and malt quality analyses.

The next project will involve more batches from different farmers and fields as well organic as non-organic.