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1. Chapter 5
POSTHARVEST
HANDLING
OF
PRODUCE

2.  Being living organs, fruits and vegetables continue
to respire even after harvesting when they have a
limited source of food reserves.
 In addition to degradation of respiratory substrates,
 a number of changes in taste, colour, flavour, texture
and appearance take place in the harvested
commodities
 Which make them unacceptable for consumption
by the consumers if these are not handled properly.
 Post harvest technology starts immediately after the
harvest of fruits and vegetables.

3. Harvesting principles to maintain quality
 Proper timing of the harvest period
 Care should be taken to prevent injury due to
harvesting and handling errors
 Preharvest preparation should include
 Lining up sufficient labor, supplies (containers and
packaging items), cleaning the grading/ packing
shed, and determining if all equipment is operable

4. IMPORTANCE OF POST HARVEST TECHNOLOGY OF
HORTICULTURAL CROPS
 Post harvest losses in fruits and vegetables are very
high. 20-40% fresh fruits and vegetables shrivel and
decay, lowering their market value and consumer
acceptability.
 Minimizing these losses can increase their supply
without bringing additional land under cultivation.

5. Cont’d
 Improper handling and storage cause physical damage
due to tissue breakdown.
 Mechanical losses include bruising, cracking, cuts etc.
 Microbial spoilage by fungi and bacteria.
 Whereas, physiological losses include changes in
respiration, transpiration, pigments, organic acids and
flavour.

6. Important sites of post-harvest losses
 Farmer’s field
 Packaging
 Transportation
 Marketing

7. Causes of post-harvest loss
 Metabolic
 Developmental
 Mechanical Parasitic diseases
 Physiological deterioration
 Lack of market demand
 Consumption

8. Impact of post-harvest losses
 Nutrition
 Economy

9. Technologies for minimizing the losses and
extend shelf life
 Washing the produce
 Sorting and Grading
 Cold chain management
– Evaporative cooling
– Precooling
– Cold storage
 Controlled atmosphere storage (CAS)
 Modified atmosphere storage (MAS)
 Waxing

10. Cont’d
 Proper/scientific Packaging
 Curing
 Irradiation
 Controlling ethylene production and its perception
by the fruit
 Preservation using
– Sugar
– Vinegar
– Salt
– Sulphur dioxide
– Carbonation
– Pasteurization
– Heat treatment
– Drying and Processing

11. Food safety and quality in Horticulture
 Food safety
o Assurance that food will not cause harm to the
consumer when it is prepared and/or eaten
according to its intended use.
o Assuring food safety is for consumer protection, a
universal mandate.

12. Cont’d
 Food safety assurance
 Measures taken during production and postharvest
(handling, storage and distribution) to ensure that
product consumption does not represent a risk
to human health.
 Expands market access and confidence.

13. Cont’d
 Hazard is a biological, chemical or physical agent in
food with the potential to cause an adverse health
effect.
 Risk is the probability of a hazard occurring.
 Produce is vulnerable to hazards at every step of the
chain.

14. Cont’d
 Hazards in Foods
o Biological hazard
o Chemical hazard
o Physical hazard
 Biological hazards include pathogenic organisms (e.g.
Eschirichia coli and Salmonella spp.) and spoilage
organisms such as insect pests, animals etc.

15. Cont’d
 Sometimes, pathogenic microbial load may be
insufficient to cause product decay but may be
enough to cause human illness.
 Produce that appears to be perfect could be
microbiologically contaminated and thus could
represent a risk to consumer health

16. Cont’d
 Chemical hazards include pesticides and other
chemical residues.
 They have less dramatic and immediate effect than
microorganisms.
 But, have long term effects on human health and have
direct and indirect effects on the environment, flora and
fauna.

17. Cont’d
 Other chemical hazards include
o Toxic elements, such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and
zinc, and
o Naturally occurring compounds, such as oxalates in
green leafy vegetables and alkaloids (e.g. solanine) in
potatoes.
 Chemical hazards can be introduced during
production through fertilizers, phytosanitary products
and growth regulators.

18. Cont’d
 Chemical hazards can also be introduced during
postharvest operations through waxes, phytosanitary
products and detergents.
 Physical hazards include glass, wood, stones, hair,
plastic, and metals.
 Hazards and their associated risks are increasing
because

19. Cont’d
 Vegetables are primarily consumed in the fresh form
and/or with minimal cooking,
o There is increasing emergence of new foodborne
pathogens, and global trade of vegetables is
increasing.
 Food safety hazards should be prevented throughout
the value chain.

20. Costs associated with food safety
outbreaks
 To the consumer
o Costs of medical care
o Missed work and lost wages
o Expenses for care
o Chronic disease
o Waste of time

21. Cont’d
 To the exporter
o Loss of market access and credibility
o Losses of foreign revenue
o Loss of competitiveness
o Loss of reputation

22. Cont’d
 To the Horticulture sector
o Complaints and produce rejection
o Closure of business
o Penalties
o Disputes
o Loss of prestige
o Cost of corrective actions (investments)

23. Role of growers and handlers in food
safety
 Personnel associated with growing and harvesting
should apply good agricultural practices (GAPs) and
protect harvested produce from contamination.
 They should also apply good hygienic practices (GHPs)
in the field and in all handling operations, and protect
harvested produce from contamination.

24. Cont’d
 Personnel should also ensure proper sanitation of
harvesting equipment and tools, packhouse facility,
equipment and surroHazard Analysis Critical Control
Point (HACCP)undings, containers, and transport
systems.
Sanitation is about attention to details!!!!!

25. Cont’d
 Proper records must be kept in order to facilitate
traceability.
o Keep records on
o Seed quality, pesticide application,
oWater quality (irrigation and wash in packhouse);
o Soil analysis; Pest control program;
o Postharvest treatment; cleaning and maintenance
program (establishment, machinery, tools, etc.)
and
o Workers’ training.