Fresh produce like fruit and vegetables must be handled, transported, and stored at precise temperatures in order to:
- Maintain produce quality
- Minimise pathogen growth
- Lower the impact of microbial proliferation
Harvested fruit and vegetables are living organisms. They maintain many of the biochemical reactions and physiological systems that operated when they were attached to the growing plant. Once harvested, produce relies on it’s own sources of energy and water to survive until final consumption. Temperature control helps this process. Pathogens are micro-organisms that can cause disease – the growth of these should be minimised, as fewer micro-organisms mean a lower chance of spreading disease.
From start to finish
Temperature monitoring is crucial at all stages of the process; from initial harvest to final environment, and through any transportation or storage stages. Fruit and vegetable temperature control is essential during these six processes:
- Cooling after harvest
- Washing
- Packing
- Cold storage
- Transport
- Point of sale
Elements that affect storage
There are seven key elements that affect the correct storage of fruit and vegetables. They are:
- time from harvest
- temperature
- relative humidity
- atmosphere composition
- ethylene
- potential pests and diseases
- pre and post harvest treatments
The long and short of it
Timestrip temperature monitoring indicators provide an effective and efficient solution for any fresh produce. The Timestrip® Food indicator is most useful in this instance. Once activated, Timestrip® Food will monitor temperature for days, weeks or months, depending on your needs. During that time, it will record the duration of any temperature breaches.
The clock is ticking
If you are involved in the fresh produce industry and don’t already have quality monitors in place, this is the time for you to start using them. have them installed. The cost of losing fresh produce far outweighs the low cost and effective monitoring that you can achieve with the Timestrip Food indicators. Find out more about Timestrip® Food indicators here or email Samantha at samantha@tempmonitor.co.za.
