Postharvest Fresh Produce Research Papers (original) (raw)

White light illumination during retail has been suggested as a simple, non-chemical way to extend the shelf-life of green vegetables. Unfortunately, the influence that key factors like radiation intensity and photoperiod have on the efficacy of such treatments efficacy is barely understood. Herein, we evaluated the influence that the intensity and photoperiod of white light illumination during retail, had on the shelf-life of cold stored broccoli. Broccoli florets were stored at 5°C and illuminated with white light emitting diodes (LEDs) under three different light intensities (Low, 3.6; Mid, 9.5; and High, 19.0 W m −2). At each light intensity condition samples were subjected to four different light:darkness cycles (3h:21 h;6h:18 h;12h:12 h or 24h:0 h). One set of samples packed and stored at 5°C, but kept in darkness, was used as a control. After 0, 11 or 19 d of storage we evaluated weight loss, color, chlorophylls, total sugars, sucrose, glucose and fructose contents. We also assessed the changes in ascorbic acid, carotenoids and phenolic antioxidants. Mid-and High-intensitytreatments proved highly beneficial to delay senescence. Storage under Mid-and High-intensity white LEDs for 3-12 h per day was markedly more effective to prevent yellowing than continuous illumination. Exposure to Mid-intensity light, 3 h a day also reduced dehydration, chlorophyll, sucrose, glucose and fructose losses. In addition, broccoli maintained higher levels of ascorbic acid, carotenoids and phenolics at the end of the storage period. These results show that white LED illumination during retail may be used to extend the shelf-life of refrigerated broccoli and set the stage for proper intensity and photoperiod usage.

The immense diversity in agro-climatic condition across the country enables India to produce large amount of vegetables with current production around 71 million MT, however, per capita availability is only about 180 gram as against recommended 300 gm per capita. This is due to huge losses of vegetables after harvest per year, nearly 40% fruits and vegetables are lost. Several factors are responsible for the damages & losses of the fresh produce. One of the major problems is lack of awareness and knowledge about how to handle fresh harvested vegetables. Proper postharvest handling can reduce losses of freshly vegetables and also maintained the product quality up to final consumption. Postharvest handling and losses of tomato, brinjal, okra, and leafy vegetables were evaluated from harvest to consumer market. This study was taken to identify postharvest operations followed and assessment of losses at various post-harvest handling stages; at farmers, APMC and retailers level. A standard questionnaire was prepared for collection of data and survey. At farmers level losses were observed in the range of 6-10, 2-6, 1-2, and 0.5 percent in tomato, brinjal, okra and leafy vegetables respectively. While 5-10, 5-8, 3-5 and 3.5 percent losses were observed at APMC level in leafy vegetables, tomato, brinjal and okra respectively. Whereas losses in the range of 9-16, 6-10, 2-4 and 2-3 percent were observed in leafy vegetables, tomato, okra and brinjal retailers' level. Maximum losses were observed in tomato followed by leafy vegetable, brinjal and okra. This paper describes the various postharvest handling of tomato, brinjal, okra and leafy vegetables at three different levels.

- by IJAAST Journal and +1
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- Agricultural Engineering, Agronomy, Organic agriculture, Biotechnology

In this review, the primary objective was to systematize knowledge about the possibility of improving the health-promoting properties of raw plant products, defined as an increase in the content of bioactive compounds, by using ozone. The greatest attention has been paid to the postharvest treatment of plant raw materials with ozone because of its widespread use. The effect of this treatment on the health-promoting properties depends on the following different factors: type and variety of the fruit or vegetable, form and method of ozone treatment, and dosage of ozone. It seems that ozone applied in the form of ozonated water works more gently than in gaseous form. Relatively high concentration and long contact time used simultaneously might result in increased oxidative stress which leads to the degradation of quality. The majority of the literature demonstrates the degradation of vitamin C and deterioration of color after treatment with ozone. Unfortunately, it is not clear if ozone can be used as an elicitor to improve the quality of the raw material. Most sources prove that the best results in increasing the content of bioactive components can be obtained by applying ozone at a relatively low concentration for a short time immediately after harvest.

- by Sofia Agriopoulou and +1
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- Quality, Oxidative Stress, Ozonation, Carotenoids

Cabai (Capsicum annuum L.) merupakan salah satu komoditas yang penting dan memiliki nilai ekonomi yang tinggi di Indonesia. Tanaman cabai berasal dari daerah tropika dan subtropika khususnya Kolumbia dan Amerika Selatan hingga Amerika Latin, kemudian disebarkan melalui perdagangan ke seluruh dunia termasuk Asia seperti Indonesia (Nurfalach, 2010). Di Indonesia, sekitar 64% dari semua cabai dihasilkan di Pulau Jawa. Cabai adalah jenis sayuran dataran rendah tropis yang khas, karena 69% dari daerah penanaman berlokasi kurang dari 200 m di atas permukaan laut (Vos, 1994).

Abstract
Postharvest losses assessment of horticultural crops in south wollo, at two districts were investigated using data
from220 farmers and 80 traders. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and focus group discussion.
The results revealed that the performance of using irrigation water is very interesting (96.4% of respondents) but
there is shortage of irrigation water (21.8%). The problem of pest and disease is one of the major production-limiting factors as replied by most of respondents (44.8%) and the problem is severe during winter. The major
causes of postharvest losses as replied by the respondents are preharvest infection (46.4%) and others (25%)
replied both infection and injury. The general postharvest losses of commodities as replied by the producers is
estimated as <5% (50% of respondents) 5-10% (34.1% of respondents) and 10-20% (13.2% of respondents). The
losses of individual crops at different stages of handling (farmers level, transportation and storage) is
summarized as banana (1.5%,1.2% and 4.5%), orange (3.04%,1.2% and 3.6%), mango (1.6%,1% and 3.7%),
papaya (1.5%,1% and 3.3%), tomato (2.5%, 2.5% and 5.9%), onion (3.3%,1.1% and 3.7%), cabbage (4.3%, 2.8%
and 4.2%) and carrot (2.8%, 1.2% and 3.8%). Awareness creation about the amount of losses, criteria to be used
during selection and other postharvest principles and operations should be given due emphasis to minimize the
postharvest losses of perishable horticultural commodities.
Key words : Postharvest, horticulture , losses, value chain

- by Sachin Tyagi
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- Agronomy, Horticulture, Crop genetic diversity, Crop Physiology
- by Riezka Z Rasyda
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- Postharvest OF Fruit, Postharvest Fresh Produce, Postharvest, Pasca Panen

Outbreaks of produce-related food-borne pathogens have undergone a sharp increase in last three decades because of high produce consumption. A paradigm of food safety for produce is important due to its susceptibility to microbial attack and biofilms formation. Greater attention should be paid to decontaminating the pathogens in biofilms as they pose a risk to public health. This review will focus on produce-related outbreaks, attachments, quorum sensing, biofilms formation, resistance to sanitizers and disinfectants, and current and emerging control strategies for fresh and minimally processed produce, providing new insight into food safety. The consequences of biofilms formation on produce include the formation of a protective environment that is resistant to cleaning and disinfection. Alternative means of controlling or inhibiting biofilms formation on produce will be explained briefly and we will identify where additional research is needed.

- by Daniel Layugan
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- Microbiology, Biofilms, Agricultural Biotechnology, Postharvest Fresh Produce

Fruit peel coloring is one of the most important measures of commercial values in various citrus fruits. It is well documented that a gaseous plant hormone, ethylene, regulates the peel color changes associated with fruit ripening. To handle the peel color quality, it is necessary to develop a universal measure of ethylene-directed color changes. Here, we proposed a novel colorimetric formula: y* = [ (L* n • max-L* t) 2 + (a* n • max-a* t) 2 + (b* n • max-b* t) 2 ] 1/2 (y* > 0), based the CIE 1976 L*a*b* colour space units, which reflect the wholistic changes in fruit color. Since all known colorimetric values are specialized for estimation of the changes in certain single pigment, our formula may be useful for assessing the total fruit color development in a controlled atmosphere.

- by Tomonori Kawano
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- Agricultural Engineering, Biochemistry, Botany, Food Science

This work aimed to study the effect of storage conditions (cold, room temperature and traditional storage systems), packaging types (plastic, carton and clothes), and bulb size (small, medium and large sizes) on the quality of garlic during storage. Moisture loss, total losses, sprouting and empty bulb percentages were determined during the storage period. The chemical composition of the garlic during storage was also determined. The results indicated that the accumulative moisture content losses increased with bulb size and storage period. Storage system had a great effect on the losses, where, the traditional storage system recorded the lowest moisture losses (4.36 %), compared to the other systems under study. The traditional storage system recorded the lowest total weight losses (14.24 %), while the room temperature storage system recorded the highest value (18.30%). Plastic packages recorded the lowest total weight losses (15.30 %), while it was 16.96% for the clothes packages under the cold storage system. At the room temperature storage system, carton packages gave the lowest losses (16.12%) compared to that recorded for the garlic bulbs stored in plastic packages (19.93%). Sprouting percentage ranged from 24.68-64.80%. Empty bulbs percentage ranged from 2.39-12.17%.
Concerning the chemical composition, moisture content decreased from 60.33-63.24% before storage to 55.57-58.22% after storage period. Protein changed from 6.26-6.33% before storage to 6.62-7.18% after storage period. Storage system, package type and bulb size had no effect on both fat and ash percentages. Fiber percentage ranged from 2.12-2.15% before storage to 2.16-2.22% after storage period. Carbohydrates increased from 26.30-27.37% before storage to 30.74-33.36% after storage period, depending on storage system, package type and bulb size.

- by Adel Bahnasawy
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- Postharvest Fresh Produce

A B S T R A C T Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) are synthetic porous materials consisting of metal ions or ion clusters bound to organic molecules to create a crystalline structure with a very high internal surface area. MOF molecules have been found to have potential utility in the selective adsorptive binding and release of gaseous fuel and other chemicals. We explored the ability of selected MOFs to bind ethylene and the ethylene action inhibitor, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) with the intent of evaluating their usefulness in regulating ethylene responses for perishable produce. We screened several MOF compounds and selected two (Basolite C300 and Basolite A520) for in-depth characterization based on their superior capacity for binding ethylene. Basolite C300 is a copper-based MOF with a trimesic acid linker group and Basolite A520 is an aluminum-based MOF with a fumaric acid linker group. Binding efficacy was compared to zeolite Z13X, which was also found to bind ethylene. The copper-based Basolite C300 was more effective at binding and retaining ethylene than the other compounds tested. When ethylene-charged sorbents were moved to dry air, they released little ethylene. However, in the presence of free water, Basolite C300 desorbed a majority of its bound ethylene. Adsorption and desorption behavior differed for other alkenes. Basolite C300 had the highest affinity for 1-MCP, but did not release bound 1-MCP in the presence of humidified air. In contrast, the compound 1-butene, often used as a surrogate to quantify 1-MCP, was bound tightly by the MOF and quickly released in the presence of humidified air. We tested the potential for in-package release of bioactive compounds from a MOF. In a proof-of-concept experiment, we found that ethylene-loaded Basolite C300 released ethylene rapidly into packages of banana fruit and induced ripening; MOF without ethylene loading did not induce ripening. The data suggest that MOFs have the potential to sorb, store, and release gaseous compounds that impact plant physiology and may have some utility as a delivery system for volatile plant growth regulators.

The desire for local, fresh produce year around is driving the growth of hydroponic growing systems in the United States. Many food crops grown within hydroponics systems, such as leafy greens and culinary herbs, have their root systems submerged in recirculating nutrient dense water systems from planting through harvest. If a foodborne pathogen was incorporated into this water system, the risk of contamination to the entire crop is high. Hence, this study evaluates the ability of E.coli O157:H7, E.coli non-O157 STEC, and Salmonella to survive in three diᬀ栂erent model water systems (water control, fertilizer with plant, and fertilizer without plant) to better understand the behavior of these organisms over time. All the pathogens grew three logs over a twenty four hour period in all three systems. The E.coli O157:H7 had the highest growth in the fertilizer with plant (log 3.52), while E.coli non-O157 STEC and Salmonella showed more growth in the fertilizer without plant system than in the fertilizer with plant (1-2 logs). Overall, these findings show that if foodborne pathogens were to enter a hydroponic system there is potential for survival and growth.

- by Md. Iqbal Kabir Jahid
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- Microbiology, Biofilms, Postharvest Fresh Produce

This work investigates the feasibility of nonthermal low-pressure oxygen plasma on sanitization of spinach, lettuce, tomato and potato surfaces from Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium str. LT2 (Salmonella typhimurium LT2). It was shown that the time of exposure and plasma power density were two critical parameters influencing the bactericidal efficiency. Surface roughness and hydrophobicity did not influence the sanitization of produce. Oxygen plasma was more effective than washing with 3% H2O2 on eliminating S. typhimurium LT2 on spinach. Plasma treatment chemically changed a very thin section of tomato wax cuticle layer by oxidation reaction and decomposition of carbon chains, which could readily and completely be removed by water. Overall, this study confirms that nonthermal oxygen plasma can be a new effective method of sanitization for fresh produce.

- by ming zhang
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- Postharvest Fresh Produce, Oxygen Plasma Treatment, Bactericidal Activity

A B S T R A C T The effects of exogenous ATP on the postharvest quality, browning and softening of mung bean (Vigna radiata) sprouts were evaluated. ATP treatment significantly alleviated the quality loss and browning events during the storage of 3 days. It also reduced the oxidant damage by inducing high activities of peroxidase (9.3–13.9%) and superoxide dismutase (8.8–10.3%) which scavenged the reactive oxygen species (ROS) effectively. Transcriptional results indicated that ATP treatment decreased VrPL1, VrPME and VrPG1 gene expression levels more than 2 folds at some time points. Furthermore, the atomic force microscope (AFM) images revealed that the pectin degradation was notably slowed by ATP treatment and the width and height of pectin backbone were better maintained (47.1% and 45.6% higher than control without ATP treatment). The cooperative effects of ROS scavenging and decreased expressions of pectin-related genes might contribute to the deferred pectin deterioration and firmness loss by ATP treatment.

- by Hongshun YANG
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- Food Nanotechnology, Postharvest Fresh Produce

Increasing foodborne illnesses linked with the consumption of contaminated food pose serious health risks. Fresh fruits and vegetables can potentially be contaminated (microbes/chemicals) throughout the supply chain. Various chemical and thermal approaches have been used in the past to decontaminate fresh produce, which have had a negative impact on commodities and health hazardous. Henceforth, this conducted study was aim to test an ecofriendly/green decontamination technique, for impact on food safety and quality of spinach. Freshly harvested spinach leaves were treated with a combined application of ozone and ultrasound (O3+US) for different times (5, 10, and 15 min) in an aqueous medium. Different food safety (microbes and pesticide residues) and quality (VC content, TSS, TA, and weight loss) parameters were studied in comparison with tap washed samples. Total plate count method was used to evaluate microbial contamination and pesticide residues were determined by HPLC. There was gradual decrease in contaminants with increase in O3+US treatment time. Sonolytic-ozonation 10 and 15 min treatments were found optimal in reduction of microbial counts (TPC, E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria) and pesticide residues (10 min 94.04% and 15 min 99.77% residue reduction). However, chlorophyll degradation was observed in 15 min treated sample under 1-week household storage. There was no significant detrimental impact on quality parameters of spinach during 1 week of storage under refrigerated conditions. So, it was concluded that O3+US treatment for 10 min can be employed for microbial and chemical decontamination in spinach leaves at household level without any negative effect on its quality up to 1 week under refrigerator storage (5 ± 2 ○C).

- by Zarghona Siddique
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- Ozonation, Medicine, Food Microbiology, Biological Sciences

- by Iqbal Jahid
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- Microbiology, Biofilms, Agricultural Biotechnology, Postharvest Fresh Produce

Bruise damage is one of the mechanical injury problems that could appear in fresh produce during the post-harvest supply chain. The study investigated three main effects (drop impact level, storage temperature, and storage duration), which can expand the level of bruising and cause some quality changes that contribute to the damage of pear. Pear fruit samples were purchased from the market and delivered to the post-harvest laboratory. Each pear was impacted by a ball with a known mass at three different drop heights (20, 40, and 60 cm), stored at 22 • C with 45 ± 5% RH and 10 • C with 85 ± 5% RH for 14 days storage period. Bruise area (BA), bruise volume (BV), and bruise susceptibility (BS) were calculated. Different quality analyses were done like color, firmness, and total soluble solids (TSS). Analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression analysis, and pearson correlation coefficient were performed. With increasing drop height and temperature for 14 days storage, BA, BV, BS, lightness (L *), yellowness (b *), color saturation (Chroma), and total color difference increased. However, firmness was highly reduced (92.82%) due to the increase in drop height (60 cm), storage temperature (22 • C), and storage duration (14 days). Color purity (Hue), redness (a *), and TSS were not affected by drop height (impact level). A strong relationship with a strong linear regression (R 2) was found between BS and CIE L * , a * , and b * color coordinates. A positive and strong correlation was also found between BS and CIEL * a * b * color parameters with a strong and negative correlation with firmness. Overall, this study can be considered as guideline for horticulture researchers and in fresh produce supply chain during post-harvest operations.

- by Pankaj Pathare and +1
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- Postharvest Technology, Fruit Science, Postharvest Fresh Produce

Micro-contamination is one of the major causes for the postharvest loss which affects the quality and restrict the shelf life of horticultural fresh produce during the supply chain. Mushrooms are more vulnerable as their shelf life is too short and are consumed fresh. The main target of this work is to isolation and control of fungal contaminants in mushrooms during the postharvest storage. Samples of Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus florida were collected from three major vegetable market of Kathmandu city which revealed presence of 21 fungi. Results exhibited Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus sp as most abundant contaminants which were treated with different concentrations of essential oils of Cinnamomum tamala, Mentha spicata, Zanthoxylum armatum and Eucalyptus citriodora using poisoned food technique. The control combination was potato dextrose agar with no oils added. All the EOs were found significantly inhibit (p<0.05) the growth and spore germination of both test fungi. A strong inhibitory action of cinnamon oil and mentha oil was recorded against A. niger and Rhizopus sp respectively at a concentration of 20 µl/ml. This clearly suggests that EOs could be an alternative to the synthetic
chemicals that are currently used to control fungal contamination in mushroom and extend their shelf life.
Key words: Microbial contamination, Postharvest, EOs, Oyster mushroom, shelf life

Loss of sugars contributes to accelerate postharvest senescence of broccoli. Several treatments have been developed to delay senescence, but in many cases their effects on sugar metabolism were not analyzed. We studied the effect of harvest at different times of day (08:00, 13:00 and 18:00 h) and of several postharvest treatments as heat treatment (HT), modified atmosphere (MA) and 1-methylcylcopropene (1-MCP) on sugar levels and activities of enzymes related to sucrose and starch degradation. Harvesting at the end of day delayed the loss of chlorophylls and caused the lowest decrement in sugars, although no differences in invertase, sucrose synthase and β-amylase activities were detected among samples. Treatments of MA and 1-MCP caused a lower loss of glucose and fructose, while HT caused a lower decrement of sucrose. Treated samples maintained higher levels of chlorophylls. The treatments reduced the activity of invertase and sucrose synthase and induced higher levels of β-amylase activity. Harvesting at the end of day and performing simultaneously a MA treatment could be a good combination to maintain the green color of the inflorescence and sugar levels during postharvest of broccoli.

- by Gustavo Martínez and +2
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- Postharvest OF Fruit, Postharvest Horticulture, Postharvest Fresh Produce

Broccoli heads were harvested at different times of the day (sunrise, midday and sunset) and then stored at 20 • C for 5 d. The samples harvested at sunset showed the lowest loss of colour and chlorophyll degradation, those picked at dawn had the highest degreening, whereas heads harvested at midday showed an intermediate behaviour. As broccoli shelf life is mainly determined by external appearance and surface colour, harvesting heads at the end of the day instead of in early morning can extend their shelf life by 1 d, when stored at 20 • C. Samples harvested at sunset also had the highest levels of total soluble and reducing sugars, antioxidants and phenolic compounds during storage. However, at harvest, samples obtained at different moments had the same levels of chlorophylls, soluble sugars, antioxidant and phenolics; whereas the starch content was clearly different among samples. Those harvested at dusk had higher starch levels than those harvested at sunset. We hypothesize that starch degradation produces single sugars whose presence delays senescence in samples harvested at the end of the day. This fact was corroborated by providing an exogenous supply of glucose or sucrose to samples harvested in early morning, which also showed a delayed senescence by maintaining higher levels of chlorophylls, antioxidants and phenolics. Our results suggest that starch accumulated during daylight delays senescence in broccoli and helps to maintain better postharvest quality and nutritional parameters.

In this paper, the magnitude and uniformity of airflow inside tomato storage container fitted with an evaporative cooler (EC) and CoolBot-air-conditioner (CBAC) systems is investigated. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the airflow was developed and experimentally validated. The validated CFD model was employed to investigate the airflow distribution inside cold storage container. The result showed that using the EC alone during the initial stage of the cooling process is insufficient in terms of the magnitude and uniformity of the cooling airflow through the stacked tomato. Particularly, for a fully loaded storeroom, the level of ventilation in the central region of the room and in the region at the downstream end of the EC was found to be very
low (< 0.01 m s-1). Therefore, using the EC and CBAC simultaneously during the first few hours of the cooling process is recommended and afterwards the EC alone can be used. The study underlined the importance of accurately sizing and selection of the air driving devices. The airflow analysis obtained from this study is useful to assess the cooling kinetics and temperature distribution of the low-cost operation to completely evaluate the potential.

- by Diego Alberto Castellanos Espinosa and +1
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- Tropical Fruits, Postharvest Technology, Postharvest Fresh Produce

The postharvest aspect of goji berries has long been neglected by researchers in order to extend its storage life and possible marketing as fresh fruit. Since fresh goji berry availability is limited only to its cultivating region due to its short postharvest storage life and highly perishable nature, this further restricts interested consumers worldwide to consuming its dried or juice form or several other by-products and hence make them unable to take in the full health benefits of this highly nutritious berry. The current study thus aims to review possible ways to improve the storage potential of goji berries to attract a wide range of researchers working in this field and on this crop. The review provides thorough insight into different postharvest challenges like weight losses and fungal decaying ratio in goji and other berry fruits, which are the main issues during storage that have a direct effect on the postharvest quality. The review also analyzes several available postharvest technologies like normal and controlled atmospheric conditions, consumer-friendly chemical postharvest applications, thermal treatments, edible coatings, irradiation and ozone treatment studies, whether conducted on goji or other berry fruits in order to optimize the possible storage protocols in accordance with goji berries.

- by Tomislav Jemric
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- Biology, Postharvest OF Fruit, Pomology, Postharvest Horticulture

The kinetics of the inactivation of Escherichia coli in organic broccoli sprouts by mild heat (MH) and lactic acid (LA) were investigated. In vitro survival kinetics showed that the cell number decreased dramatically and was not detectable after 120-135 s under combination treatment. Protein leakage and atomic force microscopy analyses showed that inactivation of E. coli cells resulted from disruption of the outer membrane by the sanitisers. LA almost destroyed the outer membrane and induced high protein leakage (3.78-10.75 μg/mL). MH enhanced the membrane damage caused by LA. The in vivo inactivation and following recovery during storage suggested that the combination treatment presented a potential inactivation process for organic vegetables or sprouts. Weibull model with higher R 2 values (0.66-0.99) best described the in vitro antibacterial kinetics and in vivo recovery dynamics. Moreover, the metabolic analysis revealed that citrate cycle (TCA) and amino acid metabolism contributed to the adaptive responses.

- by Hongshun Yang
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- Food Safety, Organic agriculture, Organic Food, Escherichia coli

Broccoli is an important component of the human diet with a high nutritional value. This vegetable is
harvested when its development is not complete, triggering a quick senescence that is accompanied
by chlorophyll degradation and a shortening of shelf life. Recently it was shown that the time of the
day at which the broccoli is harvested can influence in the rate of chlorophyll degradation. This report
describes changes of expression of chlorophyll degrading related genes during postharvest storage of
heads harvested at different moments of day. At harvest, the content of chlorophyll did not change
among samples but the expression of many genes associated with chlorophyll degradation did. The
level of chlorophyll diminished during storage, but samples harvested at 18:00 h had a lower rate of
degradation in comparison with heads harvested at 08:00 h. Most of genes that were previously associated
with chlorophyll degradation during senescence such as BoSGR, BoCLH2, BoPPH and BoPaO showed a
lower expression or a delay in their mRNA level increments in samples harvested at 18:00 h. Other
genes related to chlorophyll degradation during senescence, like BoNYC or BoRCCR, showed an increased
expression during senescence but there was no positive correlation between chlorophyll catabolism and
expression of these genes. In conclusion, changes in the metabolism due to time of day at harvest not
only influence the expression of genes during the day but also may cause different patterns of expression
during postharvest.

This study was conducted in Ethiopian Somali (Jigjig and Shinile Zones) and Afar regions from April to June 2012 to assess camel slaughtering practices and camel meat processing and preservation technologies in the regions. The result of this study reveale slaughtered in Jigjiga and Dire Dawa municipal slaughter houses had score of two body condition score (BCS) which indicates poor body condition of the slaughter camels. In these slaughter houses, camels were slaughtered first by immobi leg at the Achilus tendon. Then the animal becomes immobile and guided to slaughtering floor to cut its throat. Subsequently, flying, evisceration and dressing undertaken. Then the meat was transported to butcher house. The butcher house could sell the meat either fresh or traditionally process and preserve it. Preservation of meat was conducted by boiling the meat to reduce the water content as well as to reduce the water activity of the meat. Butter was also added while boiling to enhance flavor and eating quality of the product. This preservation method was common in Ethiopian Somali region among Somali tribes and the preserved camel meat is called Mukmud or Muremure. This product is claimed to have up to six months shelf life. While slaughtering camel, the animal was suffering from an excruciating pain from broken cut hock as well as from the act of cutting the throat. Therefore, camel slaughtering practice in Somali Region and Dire Dawa Administrative region was not f slaughtering practice and breach animal welfare protection law. To curb this problem, immediate interventions need to be taken to stop such cruel act of cutting the legs of live animal while the animal is conscious and feel the pain. T Achilles tendon in Afar region.

- by Carla Alegria and +2
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- Heat Treatment, Tomato, Postharvest Fresh Produce