Test Equipment and Measurement Instrument Blog

Innovation is the name of the game at Kett. While we’re ever conscious of the challenge to keep our designs current and top-of-the line, we’ve also been making an effort to keep our company on the edge of today’s market. Thus, we’ve officially joined the social media revolution, starting a Twitter account and a Facebook Page to meet our customers wherever they may be.

Today, farmers, food manufacturers, quality assurance and R&D specialists are all on social media to disseminate information faster than ever before. With this year’s rice harvest coming up, we’ve been following the Twitter hashtags #rice, #crop2013, #ag and #agriculture to monitor real time updates from the USDA, the Institute of Rice Research Institute, the California Rice Commission, and a host of other agricultural information centers around the globe. Keeping up with what interests our customers helps us understand how our products can meet their needs, while following trends informs us about what we need to be designing next.

In this week’s hashtag hunt we learned the Food and Agriculture Resource Center of the United Nations (#UNFAO) issued their April 2013 Rice Market Monitor Report, announcing a 1 million ton uptick in rice yields and an estimated 1.8% increase in global rice utilization for the next year. We also found a study presented on Radio Australia reporting that 70% of the world’s population is now dependent on rice for food. In the hopes of averting monumental crop losses, governments are now initiating long-awaited research and development funding. In lesser news, we also discovered that the first crop circle of the season has been found in a UK oil seed patch! Oh, sorry, got distracted for a moment there.

Well, you’ve got to have some fun on Twitter, but in all seriousness, with the upcoming public release of our C130 powder whiteness tester and the recent debut of both our PQ520 rice moisture meter and our C600 grain whiteness meter, we’re looking forward to contributing our test equipment to help meet the global rice industry’s growing demands. Monitoring the latest industry news has shown us the importance of ensuring our moisture meters and quality measurement instruments are available to this growing market.

While it’s certainly been an adventure to explore new territory in the realm of social media, it’s the human-to-human interactions that really get us excited about what we do. The relationships we’ve formed over the past 25 years at conferences like PittCon and the Institute of Food Technology (IFT) conference have become the heart of Kett. We’re hoping to merge the two worlds and connect to at least a few of the 20,000 professional attending IFT, as we’ll be introducing ourselves and our products under #IFTExpo for the first time this year.

Having started Kett specifically to serve farmers just like the ones posting their first harvest’s photos on Twitter under #rice, we are thrilled to be merging our technology with that of today’s world of communication.

A wide array of measurement instruments and technologies exist to test the moisture in grains and seeds.  The reason for this variety is that moisture is one of the most important variables to control when growing, harvesting, processing and finally, preparing the grain for consumption. 

The right moisture levels at which to drain or harvest a crop varies from region to region and field to field.

Despite being one of the most consumed foods on the planet, rice is a difficult crop to store, requiring carefully managed conditions and vigilant moisture testing.

Manufacturers need to use every advantage they have to stay profitable in today’s competitive environment, especially in low margin industries such as food manufacturing, pulp and paper, chemicals or packaging.

With the second quarter of 2013 well under way, the year is quickly shaping up to be one of Kett’s busiest in recent memory. Following last month’s successful trip to Pittcon, one of our industry’s most important events, and the launch of the PQ520, our newest single grain moisture tester, I’m proud to share our latest innovation: the C130 powder whiteness tester.

The effects of too much or too little moisture content in a product’s shelf life are self-evident, especially from the consumer's standpoint. For instance, molds and other harmful bacteria ruin bread quickly when it is packaged with too much moisture. In the case of mixed goods such as salads, a bleeding of colors can occur inside the product, which is a major cosmetic issue. On the other hand, freezer burn on frozen meat lowers the quality and price. The wrong moisture measurement, whether  too high or too low, negatively affects the product , and consequently, it’s value, marketability, and usefulness.

Let’s start by looking at where shelf life begins

Have you ever been frustrated at the end of the food production process to discover that the final product does not meet specifications?  Or what about the time involved in the analysis to get consistent and accurate measurements to ensure a quality product?