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Thursday, January 2, 2014

Secrets of the Fresh Produce Industry

We all know where to buy our fruits and vegetables. But do we know what really happens behind the scenes? Green vegetables and fruits are grown on large scales where the climate and terrain is most suitable. You may have also heard of certain kinds of fruits and vegetables that might not grow in your country at all but it is still available for sale in your local markets. Such produce is grown in pockets around the world and then transported to the point of sale. But how do they manage keeping the produce fresh while we struggle to store fresh produce inside the refrigerator? The answer is simple, the control the density of ethylene in the storage environment.
Ethylene is emitted by all fresh and is deadly to the survival of fresh produce. Ethylene is colourless as well as odourless which makes it all the more difficult to detect. Post harvest research deals with the study of produce after harvesting it. It tells us about the way ethylene emissions increase by ten fold when produce is harvested from the plant. This means that if the fruit growers as well as transporters and traders do not take the necessary measures to protect the produce, much or all of it will go to waste before it reaches its point of sale. Additionally, the produce that does manage to make it to the stores ends up in your refrigerator at home where it emits more ethylene and ripens all the produce around it.
Ethylene absorption is the number one solution in the growers market and has been used for years successfully. Absorbing ethylene from the storage environment helps reduce the rate of ripening and keep it to its minimum, thus extending the shelf life of the fresh considerably. Additionally it is necessary to remember that a lot of vendors also force ripen fruits and vegetables before sale which destroys all other fresh produce when stored along with it.
To stop ethylene damage, you need to remove ethylene effectively from your storage environment. Even trace bits are able to kick start the ripening process and hence ruin all fresh. Additionally, segregation of various fresh produce inside the storage is essential to be able to store for much longer. That way the ethylene produced by one batch has least effect on the others around it. Preventing ripening is also the best way to preserve nutrition in the fresh produce.

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