The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), through a project funded by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCARRD), has developed a device that instantly measures quality of cacao beans.

The device is portable and easy to use. By just placing a few drops of the bean’s watery mucilage into the sensor receptacle, the freshness of harvested cacao beans can be assessed by measuring sugar and alcohol content. The sensor can also tell if beans are adulterated by assessing their water content and salinity.

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