Post-harvest Technologies of Fruits & Vegetables

Introduces best practices for preserving quality and consumer appeal of fresh fruits, vegetables. Explains calculations for efficient cooling, controlled ripening and storage. Organized for post-harvest and food preservation courses. A comprehensive introduction to established and emergent post-harvest technologies, this textbook explains how to enhance the value of perishable fruits and vegetable by mitigating the causes of deterioration and spoilage from farm to point of purchase. After outlining the structural, chemical and nutritional properties of fruits and vegetables, the book provides a step-by-step explanation of processing from machine harvesting through handling, ripening technologies, packaging and distribution. Emphasis is placed on ways to collect data needed to monitor quality. Psychrometric principles and their role in cold storage systems are presented. A special feature of the book is worked calculations pertaining to control of refrigeration and control of transpiration, humidity and gases. The book also includes examples and calculations for improving process control and predicting the shelf-life of temperate-climate and tropical fruits and vegetables.