Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Honeydew grades in the United States are “US No. 1,”
“US Commercial,” and “US No. 2.” These grades are based
mainly on the percentage of fruit that meet decay, dam-
age, and disease tolerance guidelines (USDA-AMS, 1997).
Honeydew fruit has no US marketing standard for SSC
(
◦
Brix) except from May 1 to June 20, when all honeydews,
irrespective of the grade, must be
>
8% sugar level (USDA-
AMS, 1997). Size classification is the number of fruit
(based on a uniform fruit diameter and fruit weight) per box
to achieve a standard weight of 13.6 kg (30 lb). The distinct
size classes are 4-, 5-, 6-, 8-, and 9-count per box (Lester and
Shellie, 2004).
Box 28.1.
Food safety guidelines for field and
packinghouse sanitation
Field Harvest and sanitation:
All surfaces and implements that touch fresh
produce must be treated as food contact surfaces.
Clean all food contact surfaces and harvest
containers or bins prior to use.
Ensure that harvest contractors and crews are
aware of microbial food safety risk reduction
principles and adhere to established safe food
practices.
Develop and document a system of cleaning and
sanitizing food contact surfaces.
Minimize the opportunity for vectors to
contaminate packinghouse surfaces and
materials.
Minimize the access or attraction of vectors to
harvest equipment kept in the field (such as no
damaged fruit left on belts or grading tables).
Packinghouse Sanitation:
Lapses in facility or system management have the
potential to amplify localized contamination,
broadly redistribute pathogens, or create
opportunities for pathogen contamination within the
facility.
Design and maintain packing surfaces and
equipment to minimize injury to produce and to
maximize accessibility by cleaning or sanitizing
crews.
Establish routine cleaning and sanitizing programs
for all food contact surfaces.
Remove as much dirt as practicable from harvest
containers, trailers, or gondolas between harvest
uses. This should be done outside the packing
facility and isolated from any water source used for
postharvest handling.
Clean pallets, containers, or bins before use.
Establish and maintain a pest control program.
Prevent birds or other vectors from contaminating
packing equipment surfaces, packing areas, and
storage areas.
Store unformed or empty containers off the floor or
bare soil surface and in a way that protects them
from contamination.
Postharvest physiology, pathology, and storage
Honeydews are very low respiring fruit, that is, producing
<
35 mg CO
2
/kg/hr, as per classification given by Paull
and Duarte (2011). Honeydew respiration rates range from
alowof8mgCO
2
/kg/hr at 5
◦
Cto33mgCO
2
/kg/hr at
25
◦
C (Lester and Shellie, 2004). The ethylene production
rate for honeydews is also very low but, after the harvest,
they benefit from the exposure to 100 μl/liter ethylene at
12.5
◦
-25
◦
C for up to 24 hours (Kader, 1992). The fully
ripe honeydews should not be gassed with ethylene (Lester
and Shellie, 2004). The optimum storage condition for ripe
honeydew are 7
◦
C and 95% RH; at these conditions they
can be held for 7-10 days. Storage at below 7
◦
C can induce
chilling injury, but the riper the melon the more tolerant they
are to chilling injury. Chilling injury symptoms are pitting
and darkened, elongated patchy surface lesions (Lester and
Shellie, 2004).
Careful handling during storage and marketing is criti-
cal to avoid quality losses. Compression, bruising, scuffing,
and cutting may occur during harvest and at packing sheds
and may lead to desiccation, water soaking, internal break-
down, and/or discoloration of the peel (Ryall and Lipton,
1979).
Processing and processed products
Minimally processed/fresh-cut cantaloupe
Fresh-cut cubes and slices are the only “processed” forms of
honeydew marketed commercially. Honeydews harvested
at 11-12% SSC have crisp pulp and are the most suitable
fruit for fresh-cut processing. The selection of suitable cul-
tivar is essential as there is considerable variation among
cultivars for sugar, firmness, and flesh thickness (Lester and
Shellie, 2004).
The processing steps for fresh-cut honeydew are
essentially the same as described above under “fresh-cut
cantaloupe.” The key components which affect fresh-cut
products' quality are temperature, humidity, atmosphere,
Source: Suslow (2002).
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