Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Field packing flow chart
Harvest container
Mobile packing unit
Shipping container
Pick into field container
Place on conveyor
Pick into container
Carry to central location
Carry to central location
Wash
Sort/Grade
Transfer to bin
Pack
Palletize
Transport to shipping/Storage facility
Figure 14.18
Typical handling steps for three field-packing options for cucurbits.
Codex Alimentarius Commission, 1999. European
Community: http://www.codexalimentarius.net
US Centres for Disease Control. Food Safety Office: http://
www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/default.htm
USDA Food Safety Information Office: http://riley.nal.
usda: http://fsrio.nal.usda.gov
US FDA Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/Foodsafety
Figure 14.19
Field packing of summer squash using
a mobile packing unit.
POST-HARVEST HANDLING
Harvest operations
Multiple harvests are employed for many cucurbits. The
crop can be packed directly into the shipping container
in the field, or transported to a packing facility for wash-
ing, grading, packing and storage (Figure 14.18). Field
packing involves harvest and packing of the unwashed
crop into the shipping container (plastic lugs or return-
able plastic containers, corrugated cartons, wooden
wire-bound crates). Squashes may be packed on mobile
field units ('mule trains') that consist of a mini-packing
line for washing, waxing and sizing (Figure 14.19).
Watermelon and cantaloupe are often loaded into field
bins (plastic, corrugated or wood) (Figure 14.20a) and
shipped directly to the buyer and onto the supermarket
floor. Larger melons and squashes may also be har-
vested into trailers or gondolas for transport to a central
packing facility (Figure 14.20b).
Packinghouse operations
Packinghouse design is a critical factor that must facilitate
and integrate all crop handling operations. Product flow
should be smooth from each operation, beginning with
temporary storage of the product arriving from the field to
shipping operations (Sargent, 2001; Figure 14.21). Upon
arrival at the packing facility, field-packed crops are placed
directly into cold storage for cooling prior to shipping.
Crops transported in bulk containers must be carefully
transferred to the packing line. For cantaloupe, field bins,
trailers and gondolas are tipped, allowing the melons to roll
onto conveyors (Figure 14.22a), whereas watermelons are
generally unloaded manually (Figure 14.22b). Delicate
crops such as summer squashes and cucumbers are often
dumped into water to minimize transfer impacts and
abrasions (Figure 14.23 a, b).
