TOMRA 4C: AI-Powered Sorting for Nuts & IQF Products

TOMRA Food has unveiled the TOMRA 4C with LUCAi™, a cutting-edge optical sorting machine engineered to deliver superior detection, precision, performance, and efficiency for the nut and IQF (individually quick frozen) industries.

“The TOMRA 4C enables more producers, processors, and repackers to leverage the advantages of AI, machine learning, and deep learning in food sorting,” stated Harald Henriksen, Executive Vice President and Head of TOMRA Food. “This innovation helps enhance detection of foreign materials, product defects, and color inconsistencies, ultimately boosting food safety and ensuring batch-to-batch consistency while optimizing resources and output.”

This marks the first TOMRA machine that allows processors to run multiple AI technologies – LUCAi™ Deep Learning and traditional machine learning – simultaneously. The combined technologies deliver exceptional adaptability and set a new performance standard in the nut industry by allowing fast response to operational changes and maintaining consistency even when product conditions vary.

High Precision in a Compact Design
The TOMRA 4C integrates the precision of TOMRA’s chute sorting technology with enhanced detection capabilities, achieving a false reject rate of under 1% for nuts and under 0.5% for IQF products.

Kristof Franckx, Product Manager for TOMRA 4C, explained: “The TOMRA 4C offers significant performance improvements by combining state-of-the-art engineering, AI processing, and next-generation Pulsed LED sensors. Its user-friendly design allows operators easy access and quick daily operation, ensuring maximum uptime for the sorting line.”

Arriving pre-configured and easily integrated into existing production lines, the TOMRA 4C ensures flexibility and AI-driven efficiency from day one.

Part of TOMRA Food’s Continued Growth Strategy
This launch follows a series of product and application rollouts from TOMRA Food in 2025.

“TOMRA Food has been a major growth driver for the TOMRA Group, with order intake rising by 13% in 2024 and revenue increasing 15% in Q2 2025,” Henriksen noted. “Our strengthened financial position and proximity to customers have allowed us to prioritize innovations like the TOMRA 4C to address industry-specific challenges effectively.”

TOMRA Food began 2025 with the release of new LUCAi™ deep learning models for oranges, mandarins, and lemons. LUCAi™, first launched in 2018, now supports applications for apples, blueberries, cherries, and citrus, with over 3,500 lanes sold globally. New LUCAi applications are already in development for 2025 and 2026.