Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ly, such that it is unclear whether all socio-economic groupings within developed
economies will continue to have access to the quality and choice of produce which
they might have expected or have become accustomed to. Better and more targeted
implementation of innovative postharvest technologies is required to ensure the sus-
tainable supply of a diverse range of fruit and vegetables in the future.
Role of Postharvest Technology in Reducing Losses and
Ensuring Optimal Quality and Nutrition for Consumers
Challenge of Postharvest Losses in Existing Marketing
and Distribution
Most losses at the retail and consumer levels are incurred in the developed econo-
mies of the world (Parfitt et al. 2010 ) and therefore the discussion in this section
will pertain to issues in developed economies. Produce retailers have many options
that have been developed over the decades to help in reducing losses and shrinkage.
One of the most beneficial at the retail and consumer level has been packaging,
since it can provide physical protection for the product, help to control weight loss,
provide produce in portions suitable for consumers, and provide increased levels of
protection from microbial and/or chemical contamination during the handling of the
product on the shelf and to the consumers table (Anon 2011 ). However, there are
many societal and environmental issues that are yet unresolved with the lifecycle
for package use, such as ubiquity of recycling programs for used packaging (Anon
2011 ). Despite these issues, it has been estimated that use of packaging results in
significant reductions in terminal food waste (disposal to landfill) and as such has
a much lower environmental impact than does not using packaging and incurring
losses of fruit and vegetable mass that generates methane when it rots and thus con-
tributes to global warming (Gooch et al. 2010 ).
While icing and misting are in prevalent use in many retail produce displays
(Thompson and Crisosto 2002 ), concerns are emerging regarding the effects of free
water on the quality and safety of exposed produce at the consumer level, especially
if stored in a home refrigerator for any length of time (Rossman et al. 2012 ). Indeed,
misuse of misting or icing is prevalent for packaged fruits and vegetables and can
lead to problems, while not providing any benefit to such products. Recently fog-
ging systems have been developed for commercial use (e.g. Samarketing SL 2013 )
and these may provide a superior humidity control for non-packaged fruits and
vegetables on display while avoiding accumulations of free water on the surface.
Lack of refrigeration is a significant issue, despite the general adoption of mod-
ern technologies in the developed economies of the world. Local distribution can
be subject to poor logistics practices, breakdowns and inconsistent refrigeration
(Gunders 2012 ). In the retail stores packaged whole and fresh-cut produce on dis-
play can face significant problems associated with overstocking (Gunders 2012 )
which results in poor temperature control.
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