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Fresh produce includes several fruits and vegetables that are delicious and rich in several essential nutrients. However, you may often find it challenging to maintain their freshness. Most food items tend to perish and deteriorate over time. Fortunately, there are several ways to identify whether the produce is fresh by examining its color, texture, and aroma.
You may have already seen store shelves where fruits and vegetables often remain crisp, flavourful, and nutritious. This is because retail businesses are often aware of advanced preservation techniques that they use to ensure an efficient food supply chain. Every individual or entity must ensure the freshness of food items to prevent nutrient loss and extend their shelf life. This also helps minimize food waste.
This guide explores the key factors affecting fresh produce quality and the most effective
methods to preserve its freshness.
Factors Leading to Loss of Freshness and Nutritional Value in Fresh Produce
Did you know that over 25% to 50% of fruits and vegetables are lost while being transported from farms to direct consumers? Most of these items are a part of fresh produce, which means all of them are susceptible to spoilage within a period. This involves getting exposed to biological, or chemical elements of nature.
As the produce spoils, its nutritional value can significantly decline. This results in a loss of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals. The produce also deteriorates further when exposed to heat, humidity, or improper handling. This nutrient depletion reduces the health benefits of the food and affects its market value.
Now, let’s understand the relevant factors that contribute to freshness loss and nutrient loss in several food items or fresh produce:
Temperature Sensitivity
Fresh produce is highly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. A very high or low temperature can increase microbial growth in several food items, ultimately spoiling them and making them useless over time.
Incorrect storage temperatures can cause some fruits to decay within some time. The best examples here are bananas and avocados, which are among the most perishable fruits.
Optimal temperature management easily slows down metabolic reactions, which helps preserve the freshness of several fruits and vegetables.
Moisture Loss and Dehydration
Ethylene Gas
An Overview of the Ethylene Control Process
- Internal Ethylene Concentration: Reducing or controlling the internal ethylene concentration processes helps slow fruit ripening and extend its shelf life. This allows the fruit to stay fresh longer by minimizing exposure to ethylene and delaying the natural ripening process.
- Oxygen Absorption: In this process, the oxygen level is decreased, which helps slow down metabolic activities in fresh produce and causes a delay in ripening. Lower oxygen levels always reduce the rate of respiration, which delays the ripening process and preserves the quality of the fruit.
- CO₂ Modulation: Increasing carbon dioxide levels helps maintain the freshness of unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Higher CO₂ levels also slow down the respiration rate and the entire ripening process of the fruit or vegetable.
- Treatment with Chemicals: This is a complicated procedure that helps with ethylene synthesis, a chemical reaction that delays ripening. Auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellic acid have an opposite effect to that of Abscicic acid and Ethylene. These chemicals easily help regulate the ripening process to preserve the fruit’s freshness.
- Ionising Radiation: Low doses of X-ray or gamma radiation also help slow down ripening without compromising the food quality. This treatment reduces ethylene production and delays the onset of over-ripening.
- Regulating the Temperature: Keeping fruits and vegetables at low temperatures helps prevent premature ripening and spoilage, preserving the produce’s appearance and nutritional value.
Identification and Measurement of Fresh Produce
Visual Indicators
Texture, smell, and taste are the three visual indicators that help you identify underlying issues in fresh produce. The following table gives you a detailed overview of these three indicators in understanding the quality of fresh produce.
Category | Indicators |
Texture | Softness or mushiness |
Smell | Sour or fermented odour |
Taste | A bitter or off-flavour |
Other Indicators
- Sensory Evaluation: Analysing appearance, firmness, aroma, and flavour to determine freshness and detect early signs of spoilage.
- Gas Composition: Anyone can control ripening and prevent premature spoilage by monitoring oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in storage
- Smart Packaging Sensors: Embedded sensors make it easier to detect temperature fluctuations, gas changes, and microbial activity.
Traditional vs. Industrial Methods for Fresh Produce Freshness Retention
The following table draws a detailed comparison between traditional and modern methods of retaining freshness:
|
Category |
Traditional Methods |
Industrial Methods |
|
Nutritional Value Point |
Retains more vitamins and natural enzymes with minimal intervention. |
May lead to loss of nutrients because of excessive preservative usage. However, a few modern techniques retain key vitamins and minerals. |
|
Storage Conditions |
Cool, dry storage in well-ventilated areas |
Refrigeration, food storage bags, controlled atmosphere storage |
|
Preservation Approach |
Natural intervention |
Advanced preservation techniques |
|
Shelf Life |
Requires immediat e consumption |
Extended through temperature control and gas regulation |
|
Ethylene Control |
Depends on natural separation of produce |
Requires CO₂ modulation, ethylene inhibitors, and smart packaging |
|
Moisture Retention |
Natural hydration through leaves or roots |
Humidity control in cold storage and packaging |
|
Microbial Prevention |
Washing and sun-drying to reduce bacteria |
Ionizing radiation, chemical treatments, and antimicrobial packaging |
|
Usage |
Common in households and small markets |
Used in large-scale food industries and supply chains |
Methods and Techniques to Retain Freshness in Fresh Produce
Refrigeration and Cooling
- Lowering the temperature slows down respiration rates, delaying ripening and
- Reduces microbial growth by preserving food safety and
- Different food products require specific temperatures. Leafy greens can be kept fresh at 0–2°C, while tropical fruits like bananas should be stored above 10°C.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)
- Gas Regulation: Adjusting oxygen (O₂), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and nitrogen (N₂) levels helps delay ripening and inhibit microbial growth.
- Fruit-Specific Packaging: Customised packaging is based on a fruit’s respiration rate to increase freshness. It will be easier to retain the freshness of fruits like strawberries with low O₂ and high CO₂ levels. Other fruits like apples require a balance of O₂ and CO₂. This can easily prevent overripening.
Moisture Control
Proper moisture regulation prevents dehydration and spoilage in fresh produce. Key methods include:
- Humidity Control: The right humidity levels in storage always help reduce moisture loss. Most fruits and vegetables need a relative humidity of 90% to 95%.
- Ethylene Gas Management: Ethylene accelerates the ripening and spoilage of food. CO₂ modulation, ethylene-absorbing packets, and ventilation are relevant techniques that help extend shelf life.
Freeze Shock and Freeze Burn in Fresh Produce
- Freeze Shock: Sudden exposure to freezing temperatures can damage all the cells in fresh produce. This may deteriorate the texture of food items and also lead to loss of moisture content.
- Freeze Burn: This is a condition that occurs when the fresh produce is exposed to extremely cold, dry conditions for extended periods. This results in extreme dehydration, discoloration, and loss of texture.
Best Practices for Consumers to Retain Freshness
Proper Storage at Home
First-In-First-Out (FIFO) Method
FIFO is a method that involves organizing and managing food items in a particular manner. This technique is based on the principle that whichever food item is stored first must be consumed first.
This means you must consume older produce before starting with the new ones. Organize your storage areas so that you can easily access and use all the older items. You must also frequently check for signs of spoilage and remove any affected produce.
Understanding Expiration and "Use-By" Dates
Not all fruits and vegetables will have tags on them. However, a few fresh produce items available in supermarkets or grocery markets have tags. These indicate some key indications for customers, which are:
- “Best Before” Date: This specific data always indicates peak However, it doesn’t mean that the product in question is unsafe to consume after this date.
- “Use-By” Date: This tag is specifically found on perishable items such as dairy and pre-cut For safety reasons, it usually indicates when the product should be consumed.
- Visual and Sensory Checks: Analyse the texture, smell, and appearance before discarding produce.
Retain Freshness with Better Advancements
The best way to retain freshness in fresh produce is to use a combination of traditional and modern methods. Refrigeration, modified atmosphere packaging, and moisture control are some of the best methods to adapt to today. The many advancements in this field, such as AI-driven freshness tracking and biodegradable active packaging, will help further reduce food waste and retain the nutritional value of the produce.
Want to know more about fresh produce, how to retain their freshness and other agriculture- related tips and tricks?
