System and method for post-harvest crop quality and traceability based on near-infrared spectroscopy, environmental, and gas sensors

A method for classifying properties of a commodity, without need for manual preparation of a sample of the commodity, the method comprising:

• situating one or more devices at a position within a commodity, wherein the devices comprise at least one spectrometer, and, optionally, one or more sensors for determining one or more environmental parameters, the spectrometer being submerged, fully or partially, in the commodity so that a window of the spectrometer is covered by the commodity;
• obtaining, via wireless data transmissions, one or more near-field infrared spectra of a portion of the commodity surrounding the position by the spectrometer, geographic position information concerning the location of the commodity, and, optionally, environmental sensor data from the one or more sensors;
• preprocessing the obtained spectra to remove intensity variation due to irrelevant factors;
• and
• computing a prediction regarding the properties of the commodity using a model correlating infrared spectra and commodity properties, wherein the prediction is based on one or more obtained spectra, and, optionally, the environmental sensor data from the one or more sensors.