Innovative Packaging Of Fruits And Vegetables Strategies For Safety And Quality Maintenance

This volume addresses the challenges of the short shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Innovative packaging technologies are the most promising strategies for overcoming these limitations. This book provides a host of sustainable packaging solutions that deliver protection, branding, consumer attractiveness, and speed to market in a competitive retail environment. Key features of the book: • Provides an informative overview of fruit and vegetable requirements and available packaging materials and systems • Provides an understanding of the fundamentals of the impact of packaging on the quality and safety of fruits and vegetables • Covers the fundamental aspects of packaging requirements, including mathematical modeling and mechanical and engineering properties of packaging materials • Presents an in-depth discussion of innovative packaging technologies, such as MA/CA packaging, active packaging, intelligent packaging, and eco-friendly materials applied to fruit and vegetables • Looks at packaging design for better environmental and economic performance

This new volume provides a comprehensive overview of the new and diverse technologies in food packaging of fruits and vegetables, providing an emphasis on new commercially available packaging technologies for fresh produce. The book first looks at important biopolymeric films for fresh produce packaging along with a historical overview, followed by coverage of the mechanical, physical, and permeability properties and recent developments in investigative techniques of biopolymers as well as their applications in modified atmosphere packaging used in fresh produce packaging. The volume then discusses the detailed application of natural/organic active agents, including oxygen scavengers, ethylene scavengers, antioxidants, antimicrobial agents, etc., for the fabrication of active packaging for maintaining the quality of fresh produce during storage and transportation. Chapters cover active (antimicrobial, antioxidant) edible films and coatings used to preserve the quality of fresh produce. Protective packaging, package designing aspects, and safety and security packaging for agricultural produce in the supply chain are also explored. Also considered are intelligent packaging technologies that monitor the condition of packaged food using data carriers, indicators, and sensors. Novel Packaging Systems for Fruits and Vegetables provides a thorough presentation of the most important and innovative technologies for the packaging and safety of fruits and vegetables. This volume will be valuable for advanced students as well as for faculty, researchers, and industry professionals in food science and engineering, packaging technology, and postharvest technology.

This new volume shares a plethora of valuable information on the recent advances in packaging and storage technologies used for quality preservation of fresh fruits and vegetables. This book, with chapters from eminent researchers in the field, covers several essential aspects of packaging and storage methods and techniques generally used in fruit and vegetables. Important considerations on selection and characteristics of packaging materials, new packaging methods, storage hygiene and sanitation issues along with recent trends in storage technology are discussed in this volume. Key features: Provides an inclusive overview of fruit and vegetable requirements and available packaging materials and storage systems Imparts an understanding of the fundamentals of the impact of packaging on the evolution of quality and safety of fruits and vegetables Includes examples of mathematical modeling and mechanical and engineering properties of packaging materials Provides an in-depth discussion of innovative packaging and storage technologies, such as MA/CA packaging, active packaging, intelligent packaging, eco-friendly materials, etc., applied to fruit and vegetables Packaging and Storage of Fruits and Vegetables: Emerging Trends will be useful for graduate and postgraduate students and teaching professionals of horticultural science, food science and technology, packaging technology etc. It will also provide valuable scientific information to the academic scientific research community as well as to the packaging and storage industries for preservation of quality characteristics of fruits and vegetables. The professional community involved in handling processing and commercialization of horticultural crops will benefit as well.

Here is an abundance of valuable information on different sensing techniques for fruits and vegetables. The volume covers emerging technologies, such as NMR, MRI, wireless sensor networks (WSN), and radio-frequency identification (RFID) and their potential for industrial applications. Key features of the volume: • Provides an inclusive review of the developments of sensors for quality analysis and inspection of fresh fruits and vegetables • Fosters an understanding of the basic sensing techniques for quality assessment of fresh fruits and vegetables • Covers advanced sensing technologies, including computer vision, spectroscopy, X-rays, magnetic resonance, mechanical contact, wireless sensor networks, and radio-frequency identification sensors • Reviews the significant progress in sensor development of noninvasive techniques for quality assessment of fruits and vegetables

With the increasing need and demand for fresh fruits and vegetables, the field of postharvest science is continuously evolving. Endeavors are being made by scientists involved in postharvest research for maintenance of the quality and safety of fresh horticultural produce to enhance the postharvest life and to extend the availability of the produce in both time and space. This volume, Emerging Postharvest Treatment of Fruits and Vegetables, addresses the demand for the development and application of effective technologies for preservation of perishable food products, particularly fresh fruits and vegetables. It provides an abundance of up-to-date information about postharvest treatments. The chapters discuss a number of innovative technologies to prolong and enhance postharvest fruits and vegetables. This book will be valuable for those concerned with horticulture and postharvest technology. It provides essential information for students, teachers, professors, scientists, and entrepreneurs engaged in fresh horticultural produce handling related to this field.

Focusing on new technological interventions involved in the postharvest management of fruits, this volume looks at the research on maintaining the quality of fruits from farm to table. The volume examines the factors that contribute to shortening shelf life as well as innovative solutions to maintaining quality while increasing the length of time fruit remains fresh, nutritious, and edible. The volume considers the different needs of the diversity of fruits and covers a variety of important topics, including: • factors affecting the postharvest quality of fruits • microbial spoilage • decontamination of fruits by non-thermal technologies • new kinds of packaging and edible coatings • ozone as shelf-life extender of fruits. Emerging Technologies for Shelf-Life Enhancement of Fruits considers the fundamental issues and will be an important reference on shelf-life extension of fruits. Highlighting the trends in future research and development, it will provide food technologists, food engineers, and food industry professionals with new insight for prolonging the shelf life of fruits.

This book presents a selection of innovative postharvest management practices for vegetables. It covers technologies in harvesting, handling, and storage of vegetables, including strategies for low-temperature storage of vegetables, active and smart packaging of vegetables, edible coatings, application of nanotechnology in postharvest technology of vegetable crops, and more. It considers most of the important areas of vegetable processing while maintaining nutritional quality and addressing safety issues. Fruits and vegetables are important sources of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, which provide many health benefits. However, due to poor postharvest management—such as non-availability of cold chain management and low-cost processing facilities, large quantities of vegetables perish before they reach the consumer. Furthermore, higher temperatures in some regions also contribute to an increased level of postharvest losses. With chapters written by experts in the postharvest handling of vegetable, this volume addresses these challenges. It is devoted to presenting both new and innovative technologies as well as advancements in traditional technologies.

This book includes the impact, compression, vibration studies, and destructive and nondestructive techniques for bruise measurement. It is essential to detect bruises in the early stages of their formation and conduct a quantitative analysis of the degree of bruising, to ensure the accurate grading of bruised fruits and vegetables and reduce unnecessary economic losses. Bruise damage occurring between the point of harvest and consumption contributes the most to the decrease in fruit quality, reducing the market value and ultimately leading to significant reductions in potential revenue. SDG 12.3 aims to “by 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.” This book presents recent technological developments in bruise measurement, detection, and analysis of fresh horticultural produce. Given the rising demand for rapid and accurate methods of quality measurement in the horticultural produce industry, this book covers destructive and nondestructive techniques for bruise measurement. Selected applications of different nondestructive methods for various fresh produce commodities are also included. This book will interest graduate and undergraduate students, researchers, academics and engineers working in different aspects of the mechanical damage affected by postharvest handling practices, professionals working in the governments, and other authorities related to fresh horticultural produce quality, regulations, and safety.