Fruits harvested too early may lack flavor and may not ripen properly, while produce harvested too late may be fibrous or have very limited market life.
The level of maturity actually helps in the selection of storage methods, estimation of shelf life, selection of processing operations for value addition, etc. Maturity has been divided into two categories i.e, physiological maturity and horticultural maturity.
Post-harvest handling includes the processes done immediately after harvesting that includes cleaning, sorting, packing, cooling, etc.
2. HARVEST
โ Fruits harvested too early may lack flavour and may not ripen
properly, while produce harvested too late may be fibrous or
have very limited market life.
โ The level of maturity actually helps in selection of storage
methods, estimation of shelf life, selection of processing
operations for value addition etc. The maturity has been divided
into two categories i.e, physiological maturity and horticultural
maturity.
โ Post harvest handling includes the processes done immediately
after harvesting that includes cleaning, sorting, packing ,cooling
etc.
4. INTRODUCTION
โ All fresh crops are high in water content and are subjected to
dessication(wilting shrivelling)and to mechanical injury.
โ Various authorities have estimated that 20-30%
of fresh horticultural
produce is lost after harvest and these losses can assume considerable
economic and social importance.
โ That is why, these perishable commodities need very careful handling at
every stage so that deterioration of produce is restricted as much as
possible during the period between harvest and consumption.
.
5. DUMPING/COLLECTION
The first step of handling is known as
dumping. It should be done gently either
using water or dry dumping. Wet dumping
can be done by immersing the produce in
water. It reduces mechanical injury,bruising,
abrasions on the fruits, since water is more
gentle on produce. The dry dumping is done
by soft brushes fitted on the slope dramp or
moving conveyor belts. It will help in
removing dust and dirt on the fruits.
6. PRE-SORTING
โ Pre-sorting produce is usually done to
eliminate injured, decayed, or otherwise
defective produce (culls) before cooling
or additional handling.
โ Pre-sorting will save energy in that culls
will not be handled.
โ Removing decaying produce items will
limit the spread of infection to other
units, especially if post harvest pesticides
are not being used.
7. WASHING AND CLEANING
โ Washing with chlorine solution (100- 150
ppm) can also be used to control
inoculum build up during pack house
operations.
โ For best results, the pH of wash solution
should be between 6.5-7.5 - Mangoes,
bananas should be washed to remove
latex. - Kiwifruit should be dry cleaned or
brushed after curing or storage.
8. SORTING/GRADING
โ Sorting-Undesirable types of
vegetables i.e. diseased, damaged,
deformed are removed.It can be
done primarily to reduce spread of
infection to other vegetables.
โ Grading -Vegetables are
categorized according to
difference in their weight, size,
color, maturity etc.It can be done to
fetch better price in the market.
9.
10. PACKAGING
โ Its dimensions and design must be suited to the
available transport in order to load neatly and firmly.
โ It must be cost-effective in relation to the market
value of the commodity for which used.
โ It must be readily available, preferably from more
than one supplier.
โ It can reduce the amount of damage to which fresh
produce is exposed during marketing.
โ It should be to prevent physical damage to produce,
and be easy to handle.
12. STORING
โ Different vegetables require different storage
conditions.
โ Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, squash and
members of onion family are best stored at 60- 700 F
(15.5 - 21.10 C) in a dry location. If stored in a
refrigerator, they will lose flavor and texture.
โ Most other vegetables should be stored at
refrigerator temperature.
โ Store vegetables away from fruits that emit ethylene
gas, such as bananas. The gas will cause continued
ripening and possible decay.
13. TRANSPORTATION
โ Transportation is a big and often the important factor
in the marketing of fresh produce.
โ Ideally, transport would take produce from the grower
directly to the consumer.
โ Losses directly attributed to transport conditions can
be high.
โ The produce be kept in the best possible condition
during transport and that the haulage of produce be
quick and efficient.
โ To this end, produce should be properly packaged and
properly loaded on a suitable vehicle.
14.
15. COLD CHAIN MANAGEMENT
โ Food products going in cold chain
โ Their temperature and humidity requirement
โ Packaging needs
โ Compatibility in cold chain
16. Cold chain
The part of food industry that deals with the transport,
storage, distribution and selling of frozen foods all
comes under cold chain.
It includes equipments and usage of that equipments to
maintain frozen food in a fully frozen condition at the
exact temperature.
18. Need Of Cold Chain
NON-Perishable foods Lack of moisture to
growth of microbes
and enzymatic
Types of food on the basis of spoiling rate :-
โ Non-Perishable foods
โ Semi-perishable foods
โ Perishable foods
Should not lead to
spoilage, cold chain not
required
19.
20. Temperature and humidity requirements in cold chain
โ Organisms require optimal temperature and ph
to grow.
โ The lower the temperature, the slower will be
the chemical reactions and enzyme actions.
โ Low temperature will prevent the growth of
microbial organisms.
โ The growth and metabolic reactions of
microorganisms depend on enzyme reactions is
directly affected by temperature.
21. Temperature Requirements
โ Food freezes at different temperatures often below 0 deg C.
โ Any increase in the temperature of the environment in which the
product is held, above -18deg C, will have an adverse effect on the
temperature of the product.
After being held only for some time at warmer temperature the
product will start to thaw even though the product may still appear
frozen .
When it is again subjected to correct temperature environment the
product will again slowly freeze because the equipment in the cold
chain is designed to maintain product at -18deg C and not freeze the
product down to -18deg C .
22. Relative humidity (Rh) requirement
The optimal relative humidity of the atmosphere in cold
chain varies with the food stored and the environmental
factors such as :-
โ Temperature
โ Composition of the atmosphere
23. Two principles that dominate control of quality and
safety in chilled foods
Product
โ Raw material quality
โ Quality and suitability of
ingredients
โ The speed and
effectiveness of chilling
operation
Process
โ Quality cannot be
gained from
processing, but it
certainly can be lost
Package
โ Ordinary packaging
offering physical,
chemical and
barriers.
โ Advance packaging
including modified
atmosphere
packaging
โ PPP (Product-process-package)
โ TTT (Time-temperature-tolerance)
24. Relative Oxygen And Water Vapour Permeability of some food
packaging material
25. CONCLUSION
โ Post harvest handling is the final stage in the process of
producing high quality fresh produce.
โ Being able to maintain a level of freshness from the field to the
dinner table presents many challenges.
โ Freezing can preserve the taste, texture and nutritional value of
foods better than most other preservation methods.
โ Cold chain preserve the foods for longer time without changing
its physico-chemical properties during transportation and
distribution.
