POSTHARVEST TECHNOLOGY

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 OUTLINE [POSTHARVEST TECHNOLOGY]

POSTHARVEST LOSS OF HORTICULTURAL COMMODITIES

SYSTEM APPROACH TO POSTHARVEST HANDLING
FACTORS AFFECTING QUALITY CHANGES
MATURITY OF FRUIT
PHYSIOLOGICAL & BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES IN FRUIT
RIPENING
ETHYLENE
TEMPERATURE
PACKAGING AND MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE
FRESH CUT 2
mantana.bua@kmutt.ac.th
BOOK MATERIAL

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 POSTHARVEST LOSSES OF
HORTICULTURAL COMMODITIES
Mantana BUANONG
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To identify food loss VS food waste.
2. To analyze the causes of loss in the supply chain of
horticultural produce.
3. To enumerate types of postharvest loss.
4. To understand how to control postharvest loss.

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POSTHARVEST LOSS is one of the biggest problems
affecting economic growth globally.

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Postharvest loss can be defined as the loss from the
stage of harvesting to the stage of consumption
resulting from qualitative loss, quantitative loss and
the food waste (by the consumers) altogether.

QUALITATIVE LOSS

QUANTITATIVE LOSS

FOOD WASTE

The loss depends upon the type of crop that is to be

cultivated. As the fruits and vegetables are perishable,
so their chances are more to get spoiled or degraded.
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 WHAT IS FOOD WASTE?
Food waste is the subcategory included in the post-harvest
losses that occur after marketing the food product to the
consumers. Thus, it can be defined as the wastage of edible
food that has been unutilized by the consumers. Food waste
is strongly linked with the consumer’s behaviour, and it
occurs by several ways like:
•Consumer’s refusal to the retailer in purchasing the product.
•Discarding of leftover food.

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 WHAT IS FOOD LOSS?
Food loss in the post-harvesting chain results from the loss
during the harvesting stage to food marketing at the
consumers level. It occurs as a result of both quantitative
and qualitative food loss.
•Quantitative food loss occurs due to weight loss, spillage of
crops, microbial attack and pest attack.
•Qualitative food loss occurs as a result of nutrient loss,
undesirable change (in taste and texture), presence of
excreta (like birds and rodents) and contamination by
mycotoxin.

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Food loss, which accounts for 90 percent of unconsumed food in developing
countries, refers to the decrease in edible food mass during production, 10post-
harvest processing, and distribution. https://www.supplychain247.com/article/reducing_food_loss_waste_to
_feed_the_worlds_nine_billion_people_in_2050
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/02/27/in
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fographic-food-loss-waste
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The primary drivers of food loss are a lack of skills training for actors
within the supply chain in handling, packaging, and storing food;
insufficient on-farm storage technologies or post harvest storage
facilities; and farmers’ poor market access, which leads to
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spoilage before products can be sold.
SUPPLY CHAIN is a system of organizations, people,
technology, activities, information and resources
involved in moving a product or service from supplier to
customer.

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https://www.yara.com/knowledge-grows/how-to-reduce-food-waste/
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Cereals

Fruit &
vegetables

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 PRIMARY CAUSES OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
o Mechanical loss to the fruits is caused by careless
handling during harvesting, packing, transportation,
storage etc.
o Microbial action: fruits and vegetables are more
prone to microbial spoilage caused by fungi,
bacteria, yeast and mold.
o Environmental factors: temperature and humidity is
also a major factor of postharvest loss.

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SECONDARY CAUSES OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
o Inadequate harvesting, transportation, storage and
marketing facilities lead to the conditions favorable
for secondary causes of loss.
o Inadequate storage facilities at the producing or
marketing centers, are the natural causes of losses
i.e. decay by organisms, respiration, transpiration
and other biochemical reactions.
o Longer shipment and
distribution period also
cause heavy losses.

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The horticultural crops, because of their high
moisture and biochemical activities, have more
losses on postharvest.

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Major factors affecting quality and shelf life of
postharvest fruits and vegetables

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https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4041/b1326e7bdbc85fb96c5c740e1dcf39ffd8b1.pdf
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 TYPES OF POSTHARVEST LOSSES
Based on the different stages of post-harvesting,
post harvest loss is categorized into the following
types:
DIRECT AND INDIRECT LOSS

WEIGHT LOSS

FOOD LOSS

SEED VIABILITY LOSS

COMMERCIAL LOSS

IRREDUCIBLE LOSS

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https://biologyreader.com/post-harvest-loss.html
 DIRECT AND INDIRECT LOSS

Direct loss is a food loss, which occurs by spillage of

crops, attack of microbes and pests. Indirect loss is
a type of food waste that occurs at the consumer
level like consumers’ refusal to purchase, infrequent
visits to the market etc.
https://www.nutriscope.ca/food-waste/

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 WEIGHT LOSS
https://ucanr.edu/datastoreFiles/234-2858.pdf

Weight loss can be

measured by observing
the reduction in the
food’s moisture content.
The food items kept in the
open area retain
moisture from the
surrounding.
Examples: Prolonged storage,
shrinkage, consumption by
insects, poor packaging are
the reasons, which can lead
to weight loss.
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 FOOD LOSS

Food crop loss can be divided as the qualitative and

quantitative loss.
1.Qualitative food loss: It deteriorates the product’s quality
that results after the degradation of the food nutrients,
texture, taste, shape etc.
Example: The nutritional factors like carbohydrates, proteins,
vitamins act as prey for different parasites like:
1. Weevils feed inside the seed containing high
carbohydrate content.
2. Some insects attack the cereal cover that is rich
in vitamins.
3. Moulds and bacteria attack on perishable foods as
they have a high moisture content and favours the
microbial growth.
4. Loss due to the soluble excreta of pests, pesticides, and
pathogenic organisms. 27
 FOOD LOSS

2. Quantitative food loss: It reduces the quantity of a

product that results due to the weight loss by factors like an
attack of insects, birds, rodents, moulds etc.
Example: Staple foods (like rice, maize, wheat etc.) are the
target of rodents and insects.

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 SEED VIABILITY LOSS

Seed viability loss results

from poor storage
conditions or preservation
methods. Some pests,
atmospheric conditions
(temperature, moisture, light
etc.) are the reasons for the
seed viability loss, which
leads to the excessive
respiration of the food
product.
Seed viability is the capability of
germination under suitable conditions.
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 COMMERCIAL LOSS

It ultimately leads to economic and monetary loss

due to the following reasons like:
• Customer refusal to the retailer to buy a product
• Rejection by the quality standard team
• Both qualitative and quantitative loss
• And, all the above factors which are mentioned
above can be the reason for the commercial loss.

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 IRREDUCIBLE LOSS
The excessive respiration of the product,
mechanical rubbing of the grains, shrinkage in the
food product, mechanical injuries etc. cause
irreducible loss. The extra production may
compensate for this loss, indicating that the
production rate must be higher than that of losses.
Example: For the loss of 20%
in food, the production rate
must be increased to the
rate of 25%. Likewise, for the
loss of 40%, the production
rate must be increased to
66%.
https://www.docs.lighting.philips.com/en_gb/oem/download/xitanium/whitep 31
aper-fruits-and-vegetables.pdf
 ESTIMATE CAUSE AND LOSS
The post-harvest chain involves several stages where a
crop is harvested from the field to the final stage where
a product is transported to the retailer market.
Postharvesting is usually done in a small as well as large
scale production.

During the whole phase of the post-harvesting chain, there is

about 10-30% food loss that occurs in small scale production
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as well as large scale production. https://biologyreader.com/post-harvest-loss.html
CAUSE OF TOTAL FOOD LOSS DURING POSTHARVEST CHAIN
HARVESTING: PACKAGING:
Poor production processes and Packaging failures and lack of
climatic conditions are the two packaging services are the two
main causes that may affect main causes.
the crop at the harvesting
stage.
STORAGE: MARKETING:
Microbial attack, insect attack, Improper portioning, supersizing,
improper handling, humidity, dented cans are the reason which
temperature etc. are some contributes to poor marketing and
causes that can affect the ultimately to the food loss.
crop during storage.
PROCESSING: CONSUMPTION:
Discarding of mechanical The leftovers, impulse buying,
injured food, substandard food infrequent market visits etc. are the
product, visual-based rejection reasons which lead to the food
of product etc. mainly waste at the consumer’s level.
contributes to the food loss. 33
POSTHARVET TECHNOLOGY OF FRESH PRODUCES
INCLUDES;
❑ Growing cultivars that have good flavor and
nutritional quality plus long postharvest life potential
when harvested at optimum maturity.
❑ Using as integrated crop management system that
maximizes yield without sacrificing quality.
❑ Using optimal postharvest handling practices to
maintain quality and safety of the food products.

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POSTHARVEST TECHNOLOGY TARGETS THE
FOLLOWING ATTRIBUTES:
1. Maintenance of food quality: The quality of food is
maintained without altering the appearance, texture,
weight, flavour, nutritive value, and other food properties.
2. Food safety: Post harvest technology maintains food
safety by keeping the food items at proper storage
conditions to avoid contamination.
3. Reduction in food loss: The technique also targets to
reduce the food loss between the period of harvesting and
consumption by improving harvesting, storage,
transportation facilities and marketing policies.
4. Reduction of food waste: It also minimizes the food
wastage at the consumer’s level by improving marketing
skills and proper distribution of the product.
5. Effective management of the post-harvest losses.
6. Promotion: It includes the promotion of both small and
large scale production of crops. 35
 CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
Postharvest loss in fruits and vegetables can be minimized by
proper cultural operations, harvesting, transportation, and
pre and post-harvest treatments.

CULTURAL OPERATION
▪ Interrupted supply of water causes cracking of carrot,
raddish, tomato and splitting of outer scales of
onions.
▪ Sudden and heavy irrigation at late maturity results in
cracking of water melon and tomatoes.
▪ Heavy application of nitrogen fertilizers causes faster
tissue deterioration in fruits and vegetables, while
essential supply of potassium fertilizer improves the
quality of fruits and vegetables. 36
 CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
HARVETING AND FIELD HANDLING
▪ The crop must be harvested at the correct maturity stage.
Over maturity in root crops such as carrot, radish etc.
causes sponginess and therefore, their harvesting should
not be delayed.
▪ Almost all of fruits are badly affected due to delayed
harvesting.
▪ Harvesting of fruits and vegetables should be done at
cooler parts of the day and the produce should be shifted
to the packing shade as early as possible.
▪ Harvesting of vegetables during or immediately after the
rains should not be carried out as it creates conditions
most favorable for the multiplication of microorganism.
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 CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
WASHING AND GRADING
▪ Besides cleanliness, water used for washing improves the
appearance of fruits and vegetables and prevents their
wilting.
▪ For fruits and vegetables, the water should
be sanitized with sodium hypochlorite, bleach etc. before
dunking into the tank.
▪ Leafy greens such as green onion, spinach and fenugreek
are tied in bundles. During washing, the organisms present
on the fruits and vegetables are removed.

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 CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
WASHING AND GRADING
▪ Grading is an important
practice for successful
marketing of fruits and
vegetables.
▪ In sorting the fruits and
vegetables, all the characters
that influence “their
appearance and quality
should be considered.

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 CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
PACKAGING
▪ Packaging of fresh fruits and vegetables has a great
significance in reducing the wastage. Packaging also
provides protection from mechanical damage,
undesirable physiological changes and pathological
deterioration during storage, transportation and
marketing.
▪ Cheap packaging technique and materials such as
polythene films, paper board boxes lined with
polyethylene and other materials can effectively
prolong the storage-life of fruits and vegetables.
▪ Vegetables can be protected from the influence of
dry air by packing in various types of plastic films. 41
▪ The product packaging must obey the quality
standards considering the following attributes like
the shape, weight, nutritional value, etc.

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 CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
PRE-COOLING
▪ Prompt cooling conserves weight which gives an
added advantage during the extended period of
storage.
▪ Vegetables such as okra which deteriorate fast need
prompt cooling and their storage losses can be
reduced by pre- cooling.
▪ Cooling is equally useful in case of fruits. It reduces
their respiration rate especially, climatic fruits such as
banana, papaya and mango, thereby preventing
over-ripening.

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 CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation and distribution of the fruits and vegetables
are the most important areas of postharvest loss.

▪ Quick transport of fruits and vegetables in order to

maintain the quality with minimum damage during
transportation is very important.
▪ The loss in transportation occur due to physical and
mechanical injury and uncontrolled conditions,
mainly temperature and humidity.
▪ To ensure fewer losses, adequate long distance
facilities especially by rails should be developed.

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 CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST LOSS
MARKETING
▪ It is very important that horticultural produce reaches
the market as soon as possible and at the time when
the market needs it the most.
▪ A perfect and efficient marketing system is essential
to avoid the losses of fruits and vegetables, and also
to get a good return from the same.
▪ The market should be so facilitated as to reduce the
loss to the minimum.

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❑ Post-harvest loss of fruits and vegetables can be
considerably minimized and their storage life
can be greatly increased by careful
manipulation of these factors.

❑ The loss can be minimized by adopting

necessary cultural operations, careful handling
and packaging.

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❑ The use of appropriate chemicals at pre and
post-harvest stage, may extend the availability
of fruits and vegetables over a long period by
protecting them from microbial as well as
environmental damage.

❑ Therefore, steps as already mentioned should be

adopted, according to the suitability, and post-
harvest loss of fruits and vegetables should be
kept at minimum.

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Postharvest Technology of fresh produce are to reduce
losses in quantity and quality and to maintain safety
between harvest and consumption sites. 51
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As governments around the world take measures to prevent
the spread of COVID-19, the food system faces
extraordinary disruption.

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• Social distancing measures,
• Travel bans
• Border closures
• Restricted transport channels
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• The temporary shutdown of food service industries
ALL FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS ARE DEPENDENT ON A
KEY COMPONENT: PEOPLE https://www.bayer.com/en/news-stories/feeding-the-world-in-
a-pandemic-can-food-supply-chains-cope-with-covid-19

• People sow seeds and harvest vegetables,

• People drive trucks and package food, and
• People unload the shipping containers bringing food from
across the ocean.

A pandemic such as COVID-19 forces people to

change how they work and how they eat,
meaning there are multiple points of disruption that
can ripple through supply chains. 56
Fresh fruit and vegetable products (perishable
goods) are particularly at risk to disruptions in supply
chains, with rotting and going to waste if left too
long.

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▪ The main reason of the increase of food loss and
waste in Europe is a lack of labor and the sudden
drop in the food service market.
▪ But higher losses and waste in developing countries
because of border closures, trade bans, restrictions
to sending products to markets, as well as the
unavailability of labor at the right moment.

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GROUP ASSIGNMENT:

1. How the pandemic (COVID-19) impacts the

agriculture sector in your county?
5 groups will give powerpoint presentation for 5 mins on
Tuesday 7 Jan, 2022!
1. Agriculture input
2. Farming

3. Aggregation storage/ logistics

4. Processing
5. Consumption 59
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT:
1. From your point of view, during the pandemic
(COVID-19), which agricultural product losses after
harvest most in your country and what is the main
reason that cause the loss?
Explain your ideas in Microsoft word (1 A4) and submit to me at
mantana.bua@kmutt.ac.th

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

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