Application of Color Selection Technology for Eliminating Defective Products of Ripe Sunflower Seeds

Abstract

Introduction Sunflower seeds are prone to producing defective products during planting, production, and preservation due to issues such as foreign matter mixing, heat damage, mildew, and insect infestation. These defects ultimately affect the overall quality of the products. With increasing consumer demand for high‐quality sunflower seeds, efficient sorting has become a crucial part of quality assurance. However, traditional hand‐sorting methods (usually 0.005 kg/s) are inefficient and insufficient to meet current demands. Objective This study aims to address the challenges of sorting cooked sunflower seeds, which differ in color from raw seeds due to skin abrasion and soup water impregnation during preparation. We developed a new algorithm in collaboration with Meiya Company to introduce