Food science articles
What is Third-Party Certification for Fresh Produce Quality, and Who Are the Certifiers?
Third-party certification (TCP) is necessary to regulate compliance with fresh produce standards by suppliers, growers, packers, and retailers. Most TCP is conducted by private organizations that are fast, flexible, and use many standard frameworks- private and public. Objective and quantifiable data on quality parameters can make the certification process transparent, reliable, and actionable. Earlier, food… Continue reading…
What Are Fruit Ripening Systems? Types, Methods, and How They Work
Artificial ripening systems are necessary for providing evenly ripened, high-quality fresh produce year-round. The ripening agent used is usually ethylene, but others like gibberellins, acetylene, ethephon, and calcium carbide are also applied. Simple ripening systems depend on natural internal enzymatic processes and lack environmental control. Advanced ripening systems use artificial agents and improve efficiency by… Continue reading…
What Are Fresh Produce Standards? International Food Quality Standards Explained
The Codex Alimentarius, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), is the primary standard for fresh produce used voluntarily by other international organizations and national governments. Other prominent international organizations that establish and promote fresh produce quality standards include the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the… Continue reading…
What Is Crop Phenotyping and Why Is It Essential for Modern Crop Breeding?
Genetic diversity in wild relatives of crops can provide crucial inputs to improve food production. High-throughput plant phenotyping (HTPP) methods can improve the efficiency of crop breeding research and crop monitoring in precision agriculture. Portable quality meters can be integrated into HTPP systems for biochemical and sensory fruit quality parameter phenotyping Crop phenotyping is the… Continue reading…
What Affects Melon Quality? Common Postharvest Problems and How to Prevent Them
Musk melon cultivars can develop physical, physiological, and pathological disorders that degrade quality in the postharvest stages. Mechanical damage and excessive free moisture are the physical problems. The physiological problems are quality loss due to exposure to endogenous or exogenous ethylene and chilling sensitivity. Diseases caused by pathogens carried on the melon rind have led… Continue reading…
What Are the Latest Fresh Produce Storage Technologies Extending Shelf Life?
Technological innovations for storage have to slow the physiological processes that cause premature ripening, senescence, and quality loss, and shorten shelf life. Environmental factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and gas composition must be tailored to specific fresh produce to extend shelf life and preserve quality. Stakeholders need precise control over environmental factors to slow… Continue reading…
Postharvest Mechanical Damage and Its Effects on Fresh Produce Quality
Mechanical damage occurs most during harvest, sorting, grading, packaging, and distribution transport stages. The mechanical damage types are impact, compression, friction, puncture, vibration, and cutting. The mechanical damage phenotypes can include bruising, tissue collapse, perforation, cracking, and breaking. Internal factors and external environmental conditions in the postharvest chain are crucial in determining the extent of… Continue reading…
How Do Postharvest Microbial Treatments Extend Fresh Produce Shelf Life?
Fruits and vegetables harbor a microbiome on their surfaces that interacts with them to influence fruit quality. Fruit/plant-microbial interactions can be used in postharvest management to control spoilage microbes, thereby improving fresh produce quality and shelf-life. These microbial-plant/fruit interactions include competition, mycoparasitism, volatile secretions, microbial biofilms, quorum sensing, and systemic resistance induction. Postharvest spoilage, quality… Continue reading…
What Is Postharvest Physiology and Why Does It Matter for Fresh Produce Quality?
The crucial postharvest physiological processes that lead to deterioration in the quality of fresh produce include respiration, transpiration, ethylene production, and enzymatic activity. Temperature, air gas composition, relative humidity, and handling are common factors that can be controlled to slow these physiological processes. Maintaining and controlling the environment is essential to preserving quality and shelf… Continue reading…
AVO AI: De la medición a un sistema de decisiones para la calidad del aguacate
Durante años, la conversación sobre la calidad del aguacate ha sido la misma. Se invierte en mejores herramientas. Se recolectan más datos. Se refinan los métodos de muestreo. Y aun así, persisten las mismas dudas: ¿Estamos muestreando lo suficiente?¿Estamos tomando la decisión correcta de cosecha?¿Estamos detectando la variabilidad a tiempo? Porque el desafío nunca ha… Continue reading…
