Postharvest Management of Organic Produces

Kanogwan Seraypheap
Department of Botany
Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University
It is estimated that about one-third of the
fresh produce harvested worldwide is lost at
some point between harvest and consumption.
 Postharvest Management

Postharvest management deals with

• the time period from harvest to the

time of ultimate utilization, or death of
the product
Objectives of postharvest handling practices

• Arrest continued development during

storage

• Ensure that normal development occurs

following storage
Fresh produce remain living after harvest
Diverse in structure and tissue
Diverse in structure and tissue
 Postharvest loss

•Nutritional value
•Flavor
•Economic value
Postharvest Problems

• Weight loss
• Fruit blemish
• Fruit softening
• Peel wilting

• Chilling injury
 Factors affecting postharvest quality

• Internal factors
– Transpiration
– Respiration
– Ethylene production
– Changes of chemical compositions
– Development and growth of product
 Factors affecting postharvest quality

• External factors
– Temperature
– Humidity
– Gaseous compositions
– Light
– Diseases and insects
– Gravity
 Effects of ethylene on postharvest product

• Chlorophyll degradation
• Abscission
• Fruit softening
• Changes of carbohydrate
• Stimulate flower senescence
 Ethylene

• ethylene production is stimulated when

plant tissues are injured

• a concentration of 2 μl l−1 ethylene

hastened softening
 Ethylene effects
• russet spotting of • loss of green color in
lettuce along the midrib snap beans
of the leaves
 Ethylene
• toughness in turnips and • bitterness in carrots
asparagus spears
and parsnips
 Ethylene
• yellowing and abscission of leaves in broccoli,
cabbage, Chinese cabbage, and cauliflower
 Ethylene
• accelerate softening of cucumbers and
summer squash
 Ethylene
• discoloration and off-flavor in
sweet potatoes; sprouting of
potatoes
 Fruits

• Climacteric fruit

• Increased respiration
• Increased ethylene production
• softening
• Chlorophyll degradation
• Aroma, flavor
Climacteric respiration
Climacteric fruit
Non-climacteric fruit
 Harvesting index

• Days after planting • Biochemical

• Days after anthesis measurements
– Starch
• Days after fruiting
– Sugar
– Acid
• Physical – Lipid
measurements – Pigment
– Color
– Shape • Physiological
– Size measurements
– Firmness
– Ethylene production
– respiration
GREEN BREAKERS TURNING

RED LIGHT RED PINK

 Maturity Indices
Mango
• Fullness of shoulders
• Internal and
external color
• Lenticels and hairs
on pit
• Starch content
• Specific gravity
 Management Techniques for Fruits and Vegetables

• Harvesting
• Cleaning/ Sorting/Grading/Sizing
• Treatment (cold/heat/waxing)
• Packing--- Storage
• Transport
• Retail Handling
 Harvesting

• Time • Tool
 Harvesting Methods
• Man and animal labor
Machine Harvesting
Cleaning
Sorting and Grading
Sorting and Grading
 Postharvest heat treatment

• Hot-water immersion
• High temperature forced air
• Vapor heat
 Postharvest heat treatment
• post-harvest insect control
• control nematode, fungi, bacteria and
virus
• control some postharvest diseases

• prolong shelf life

• tolerate against low temperature
storage
 Low temperature control
• Air cooling : room cooling, forced-air
cooling
• Hydrocooling
• Ice cooling
• Evaporative cooling
• Vacuum cooling
 Hydro-cooling

• immersing the produce in cold water

• speed
• uniform cooling
• no weight loss by dehydration
 Hydro-cooling
Disadvantages
– necessity of drying the product surface
after cooling
– a build-up or transmission of disease in the
hydro-cooling water
– requirement for a large quantity of clean
water
– disposing of waste water
– not applicable to all types of packaging
especially cartons
 Hydro-cooling

• used for small fruits or vegetables,

leafy vegetables and pineapple

• Another system which uses less water

involves passing the produce through a
cold mist at about 5° C.
Hydrocooling
 Controlled and modified atmosphere

• Controlled atmosphere (CA)

• A precise control of CO2 and O2 (within + 1%)
during storage

• Modified atmosphere
• Modified gas composition using various
packaging
• Composition of gases is not precisely
controlled
 Packaging

• Contain the produce • Compression bruising

• Protect the produce

• Impact damage

• Vibration rubbing
 Types of package

• Sack and net

• Basket
• Wooden crates
• Fiberboard carton
• Plastic crates
• Paper, plastic film and plastic bag
Types of package
Storage
Transportation
Retail Handling
 Approved Chemicals for Use in Organic
Postharvest Systems
• Sanitation and Disinfection
– Chlorine
– Ozone
– Peroxyacetic acid
– Acetic acid. Allowed as a cleanser or sanitizer. Vinegar used as
an ingredient must be from an organic source.
– Alcohol, Ethyl
– Alcohol, Isopropyl
– Ammonium sanitizers
– Bleach, Calcium hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite and chlorine
dioxide
– Detergents. Allowed as equipment cleaners.
– Hydrogen peroxide. Allowed as a water and surface disinfectant
– Carbon dioxide
– Wax. Must not contain any prohibited synthetic substances.
Acceptable sources include carnuba or wood resin waxes
– Ethylene