NT30303

POSTHARVEST HANDLING TECHNOLOGY

WEEK 1
Pn. Siti Faridah Bt. Mohd Amin
Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
faridah@ums.edu.my
019-9424073
 Base of the Pyramid - The best methods for learning retention
 varying study methods and materials - improve retention and recall of
information
 students are able to retain about 90% of what they're able to teach to others.
The most common form of teaching others is Peer Tutoring. However, the
best place to teach others is in a study group.
What is post harvest system?

 “The post-harvest system should be thought of as

encompassing the delivery of a crop from the time and place
of harvest to the time and place of consumption, with minimum
loss, maximum efficiency and maximum return for all involved"
(The Hidden Harvest, 1976).
What is postharvest management?

 Postharvest management includes the processes done

immediately after harvesting the produce, including cooling,
cleaning, sorting and packing.
 The instant a crop is removed from the ground, or separated
from parent plant, it begins to deteriorate.
 Therefore post harvest treatment are given to increase its shelf
life and maintain its quality.
 Thus post harvest management largely determines final quality.
What is postharvest technology?

 Postharvest technologies constitute an inter-disciplinary science

and techniques applied to agricultural commodities after
harvest for the purpose of preservation, conservation, quality
control/enhancement, processing, packaging, storage,
distribution, marketing and utilization to meet the food and
nutritional requirements of consumers in relation to their needs.
Importance of Postharvest Technology

 Importance of Postharvest Technology lies in the fact that it has

capability to meet food requirement of growing world
population by eliminating avoidable losses making more
nutritive food items with higher values by proper processing,
storage, packaging, transport and marketing.
 Use of appropriate postharvest technology not only reduces
the postharvest and storage losses or adds value to the
product, but more importantly it provides the potential of
higher employment including fortification of agricultural and
agro-industries.
The basics of post harvest technology

The three main objectives of applying post harvest technology

are:
 to maintain quality (appearance, texture, flavor and nutritive

value)
 to protect food safety and

 to reduce losses (both physical and in market value) between

harvest and consumption.
Post-harvest losses

 "Losses are a measurable reduction in foodstuffs

and may affect either quantity or quality"
 They arise from the fact that freshly harvested
agricultural produce is a living thing that breathes
and undergoes changes during post-harvest
handling.
Post-harvest losses
 Both quantitative and qualitative losses occur in horticultural
commodities between harvest and consumption.
 Qualitative losses, such as loss in edibility, nutritional quality,
caloric value, and consumer acceptability of fresh produce, are
much more difficult to assess than are quantitative losses.
 Quality standards, consumer preferences and purchasing
power vary greatly across countries and cultures and these
differences influence marketability and the magnitude of post-
harvest losses.
Post-harvest losses
 Reduction of post-harvest losses can increase food availability
to the growing world population, decrease the area needed
for production, and conserve natural resources.
 Strategies for loss prevention include:
(1) use of genotypes that have longer post-harvest-life;
(2) use of integrated crop management systems and Good Agricultural
Practices that result in good keeping quality of the commodity; and
(3) use of proper post-harvest handling practices in order to maintain
the quality and safety of fresh produce.
Post-harvest losses
 Significant amounts of the food produced in developing countries are lost
after harvest thereby aggravating hunger. The causes of post-harvest losses,
which some estimates suggest could range from 15 to as high as 50% of what
is produced, are manifold.
 These include: harvesting at an incorrect stage of produce maturity, excessive
exposure to rain, drought or extremes of temperature, contamination by
micro-organisms and physical damage that reduces the value of the product.
 Food losses contribute to high food prices by removing part of the supply
from the market. They also have an impact on environmental degradation and
climate change as land, water, human labour and non-renewable resources
such as fertilizer and energy are used to produce, process, handle and
transport food that no one consumes.
Post-harvest technology
 There are a wide range of postharvest technologies that can be adopted
to improve losses throughout the process of pre-harvest, harvest, cooling,
temporary storage, transport, handling and market disbursement.
 Recommended technologies vary depending on the type of loss
experienced and include:
1. Using liners for existing packages,
2. sorting produce by quality,
3. providing shade, using tables,
4. using dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide (CO2) for insect control,
5. low energy cold storage,
6. monitoring produce temperature,
7. improved transportation,
8. low-cost food processing, solar drying and curing.
Thank you