Are you a grower or supplier of fresh produce? There is nothing as worse as fresh produce perishing too soon, right?
Beautifully, research has concentrated on ways to delay the ripening process of fresh produce, for instance. That way, farmers can store their fresh produce all year round without any fear of perishing.
Did you know that red meat’s shelf life can be extended from two to four days under refrigeration to between five and eight days with the proper usage of modified-atmosphere packaging, while poultry’s shelf life can be extended from four to seven days to between 16 and 21 days. That’s right. Research has made it all possible.
This goes to say that by extending shelf life, growers and shippers give their produce the best chance of remaining fresh for as long as they want. Fresh produce need the best chance of surviving long haulage.
Engage these various techniques to extend the shelf life of your fresh produce:
1. Handling: As soon as a fruit or vegetable is picked, you need to make sure that your handling procedures don’t injure it. Using polluted water to clean objects or putting them in contaminated crates are two examples of poor handling techniques.
2. Store at low temperature: According to one study, strawberries lose roughly 50% more water when precooling is delayed by four hours after harvest. Therefore, keeping your fresh produce at low temperature – reduces deterioration and slows microbial development.
3. Stickers: According to some studies, certain substances can lessen the negative effects of ethylene or restrict microbial development to increase shelf life. Smart stickers, have been found to extend shelf life of fresh fruits by up to two weeks.
4. Absorbent pads: There has been a lot of innovation in pads that can be placed in vegetable containers that have just been cut. Pads can help to lower a product’s respiration rate by absorbing extra juices.
5. ary your cultivars: Ever since farming was first practiced, people have tried to improve the flavour of new cultivars. Why not consider switching up the varieties you currently use. There are ones with pretty long shelf life now. Please use them instead.
6. Natural solutions: Extracts from plants, spices, and herbs can be used as antimicrobials to delay spoilage and increase shelf life. Note that consumers of fresh produce will go for natural preservatives and not ones by chemicals, any day.
Conclusion
Reducing the loss and wastage of fresh produce food lowers costs, boosts brand reputation, and aids in achieving sustainability objectives. There are various techniques to increase shelf life, and the optimum method depends on the application.
Another helpful approach for decreasing food loss and waste is shelf life prediction, which doesn’t involve changing the physical nature of the product.
