Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PARMESCAN (Parmesan Cheese Quality Inspection via CAT Scanner and Robotic Arm)
Reporting period: 2019-08-01 to 2019-11-30
Italian parmesan cheese which can only be produced in Italy's Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy provinces, and other Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese products, are highly appreciated across the world. However, its expansion is currently hindered by quality and aging issues such as cracks and other defects which appear from handling and storage. The sector has implemented, over the years, a process to assess and control cheese quality in its warehouses (which can contain over 150,000 wheels of cheese, each one weighing 40kg). But this traditional method, based on manual handling, cleaning and regular inspection by trained experts, lacks accuracy, can create more cracks and results in an incorrect cheese grading. This trend is alarming: as it affects directly the acceptance and value of the cheese, producers fail to sell a significant amount of their production, reaching up to 8%.
PARMESCAN will be a compact, stand-alone system which conducts automatically all the main operations involved in the parmesan cheese quality assurance process, replacing the traditional time-demanding, invasive, unreliable method. By allowing objective and automated quality certification, PARMESCAN will not only reduce probability of lawsuits due to incorrect grading or employee injuries but will protect the integrity of esteemed Italian cheese makers and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product makers.
PARMESCAN will be a compact, stand-alone system which conducts automatically all the main operations involved in the parmesan cheese quality assurance process, replacing the traditional time-demanding, invasive, unreliable method. By allowing objective and automated quality certification, PARMESCAN will not only reduce probability of lawsuits due to incorrect grading or employee injuries but will protect the integrity of esteemed Italian cheese makers and Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) product makers.
So far, we have achieved the following major outcomes:
Product delivery:1) Right product proven by study & redesign of to combine two commercially successful products to address a real pain point of customers. 2) Iterations of product tested for specifications, usability & durability with feedback from Parmesan cheese producers.
Customer: Right customer proven by close collaboration with future customers like Chimica Casearia and Agriform, who are collaborating closely with us by supporting us with their end users’ inputs.
Product delivery:1) Right product proven by study & redesign of to combine two commercially successful products to address a real pain point of customers. 2) Iterations of product tested for specifications, usability & durability with feedback from Parmesan cheese producers.
Customer: Right customer proven by close collaboration with future customers like Chimica Casearia and Agriform, who are collaborating closely with us by supporting us with their end users’ inputs.
During commercialisation, with PARMESCAN system we expect to consolidate our position as a leading player in the dairy quality assurance industry. Starting with parmesan cheese before expansion to other cheeses and types of food will provide us €25.7 million additional revenues and a cumulative net profit of €9.39 million after 5 years of commercialisation.