Quality Management, ISO 22000:2005 and HACCP in Fruit Processing and Packaging - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 107

Table 6.8. Pineapple production line: Hazards and preventive actions

Processing stage Hazard Preventive action

Harvest Moist fruits Avoid harvesting in extreme cold to avoid excessive moisture on

surface.

Packaging Pallet with fruits outside refrigeration

chambers or the temperature of the latter
higher than 8 ◦ C

First pack fruit in 10-20-kg boxes and then palletize. The pallets are
first maintained in refrigeration chambers and then loaded into
refrigerated containers. The temperature of the refrigerated
container must be in the range 7.5 ◦ -8 ◦ C prior to export.

Transportation Absence of controlled atmosphere CA technologies allowed operators to reduce the respiration rate of

produce by monitoring O 2 ,CO 2 ,andN 2 levels within a chamber.

Storage temperature higher than 12 ◦ Cand
low relative humidity

Temperatures in the range of 7.5 ◦ -12 ◦ C have been recommended for
storage, with a relative humidity of 70-90%. High relative humidity
significantly reduces water loss.

Postharvest storage

Fresh-cut processing Microbial attack/growth Fresh-cut pineapple pieces must be immersed in 1% citric acid and 1%

ascorbic acid solution for 2 min as antibrowning agents and to keep
the surface pH low enough to avoid microbial attack.

Cold storage at a temperature of 4.4 ◦ Cand
lower causes chilling injury and
breakdown in pineapples

Maintain storage at temperatures > 4.4 ◦ C to avoid any chilling injuries. Storage