Advances in design and performance evaluation of fresh fruit ventilated distribution packaging: A review

Risk assessment of norovirus and hepatitis A virus in strawberries imported into China

Norovirus (NoV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) pose a considerable health risk worldwide. In recent years, many cases of virus infection caused by virus-contaminated strawberries have occurred worldwide. This study applied a critical control point system to analyze the main hazards during the production and marketing of strawberries imported into China and explore the key control points in the whole process. To further evaluate the risks in the supply chain, the established quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) was used to determine the probability that residents would be infected with viruses after consuming imported strawberries. It was found that the risk of virus contamination from imported strawberries was low, and the virus contamination mainly results from water resources and personnel. This research helps the regulatory authorities formulate strategies to ensure the long-term microbial safety of imported strawberries. In addition, the methods may prove useful in evaluating the risks of other agricultural produce.

Air speed and plastic crate vent-holes for wine grape quality during postharvest dehydration: commercial and laboratory studies

BACKGROUND

Airflow is an important issue to favor postharvest dehydration keeping wine grape quality. The aim of this experimental work was to analyze the grape quality during postharvest dehydration: (i) in a commercial facility ('fruttaia') by monitoring the efficiency of the ventilation system and (ii) at laboratory level, studying the influence of crate type and airflow direction.

RESULTS

In the fruttaia, the airflow was provided by an air duct hanging from the ceiling, and by floor fans. A great gap in air speed from 0 up to 3.7 m s-1 was measured in different sectors of the fruttaia, leading to a different weight loss and grape quality in crates, depending on crate stack height and sector. At the laboratory level, two tunnels, with exhaust or supply fans, were used and four crate types with different percentages of vent-holes were adopted. A decrease of about 5% delayed the weight loss rate depending on the type of crate, and the exhaust fan guaranteed a faster dehydration.

CONCLUSION

The results clarified the inefficiency of the commercial ventilation system in ensuring homogeneous grape weight loss in all crates. In addition, the exhaust fan guaranteed a more uniform air distribution around crates, and a slightly higher air speed. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Advances in apple packaging: a review

Apple (Malus domestica) belongs to the family Rosaceae. It is one of the most commonly cultivated fruit in all temperate zones of the world and holds an equally important place in the global economy. Apple is a climacteric fruit and undergoes metabolic changes even after the harvest and thus prone to post-harvest losses. The packaging of apples plays an important role in extending the shelf life of the apples and also maintains the quality during distribution and transport. The prime role of packaging is to contain the food commodity and protect the enclosed product from external damage. But other functions such as traceability, convenience and temper evidence are of secondary importance. Different packaging techniques are employed for the packaging of apples which include both conventional (wooden boxes, corrugated fiber boxes, crates) and non-conventional packaging like modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), active packaging, edible coatings, etc.

Consumer Awareness of Plastic: an Overview of Different Research Areas

Plastic makes our society more practical and safer. It is hard to consider eliminating plastic in some sectors, such as the medical field. However, after use, plastic waste becomes a global problem without precedents, and when not properly disposed of, it can cause several socio-environmental problems. Some possible solutions are recycling, the circular economy, proper waste management, and consumer awareness. Consumers play a crucial role in preventing problems caused by plastic. In this work, consumer awareness of plastic is discussed according to the point of view of the research areas-environmental science, engineering, and materials science-based on the analysis of the main authors' keywords obtained in a literature search in the Scopus database. Bibliometrix analyzed the Scopus search results. The results showed that each area presents different concerns and priorities. The current scenario, including the main hotspots, trends, emerging topics, and deficiencies, was obtained. On the contrary, the concerns from the literature and those of the daily lives of consumers do not seem to fit in, which creates a gap. By reducing this gap, the distance between consumers awareness and their behavior will be smaller.

Numerical Analysis on Heat Characteristics of the Ventilation Basket for Fresh Tea Leaves

Plastic baskets are commonly used as containers for fresh tea leaves during storage and transport after harvest. Nevertheless, there are significant challenges in controlling the core temperature of the basket since fresh tea leaves still maintain a certain degree of respiration after being harvested, with extremely high temperatures being the major factor for the color change of fresh tea leaves. A numerical model was developed to improve the temperature control of the plastic basket, by which the influence of different structural parameters on the core temperature in the plastic baskets with fresh tea leaves was analyzed. The accuracy of the model in predicting airflow and temperature distributions was validated against experimental data. The maximum RMSE was 1.158 °C and the maximum MRE was 5.410% between the simulated and test temperature value. The maximum deviation between the simulated velocity and test velocity was 0.11 m/s, the maximum RE was 29.05% and the maximum SD was 0.024. The results show that a plastic basket with a ventilation duct efficiently decreased the temperature of the fresh tea leaves and significantly affected the heat transfer between the fresh tea leaves and the ambient air compared to the plastic basket without a ventilation duct. Furthermore, the effect on the heat transfer was further expanded by the use of a plastic basket with a ventilation duct when the plastic baskets were stacked. The maximum temperature differences were 0.52 and 0.40 according to the stacked and single-layer products, respectively. The ambient temperature and the bulk density of the fresh tea leaves have a significant influence on the core temperature.

Mechanical damages and packaging methods along the fresh fruit supply chain: A review

Mechanical damage of fresh fruit occurs throughout the postharvest supply chain leading to poor consumer acceptance and marketability. In this review, the mechanisms of damage development are discussed first. Mathematical modeling provides advanced ways to describe and predict the deformation of fruit with arbitrary geometry, which is important to understand their mechanical responses to external forces. Also, the effects of damage at the cellular and molecular levels are discussed as this provides insight into fruit physiological responses to damage. Next, direct measurement methods for damage including manual evaluation, optical detection, magnetic resonance imaging, and X-ray computed tomography are examined, as well as indirect methods based on physiochemical indexes. Also, methods to measure fruit susceptibility to mechanical damage based on the bruise threshold and the amount of damage per unit of impact energy are reviewed. Further, commonly used external and interior packaging and their applications in reducing damage are summarized, and a recent biomimetic approach for designing novel lightweight packaging inspired by the fruit pericarp. Finally, future research directions are provided.HIGHLIGHTSMathematical modeling has been increasingly used to calculate damage to fruit.Cell and molecular mechanisms response to fruit damage is an under-explored area.Susceptibility measurement of different mechanical forces has received attention.Customized design of reusable and biodegradable packaging is a hot topic of research.

Susceptibility of Impact Damage to Whole Apples Packaged Inside Molded Fiber and Expanded Polystyrene Trays

Postharvest damage, leading to loss and waste, continues to be a significant problem in the fresh produce industry. Trays, designed to reduce fruit-to-fruit contact, are utilized by the apple industry to minimize bruising of whole apples. During distribution, packaged apples are subjected to various supply chain hazards, which may lead to bruising damage. Currently, molded fiber (MF) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) trays transport whole apples from the packhouse to the retail outlet. Mechanical shock, by free-fall drop method, was used to evaluate the performance differences between the two trays and quantify the bruising characteristics of the apples. Results showed that the EPS trays provided better shock protection to the apple as compared to the MF tray, reducing the impact acceleration by more than 70%. Additionally, the bruise susceptibility was 40% less for the apples packaged inside the EPS trays, regardless of drop height. However, apples packaged in the middle layer trays were most susceptible to bruising damage, regardless of tray type.

Combined Effect of Active Packaging of Polyethylene Filled with a Nano-Carrier of Salicylate and Modified Atmosphere to Improve the Shelf Life of Fresh Blueberries

Blueberries are popular among consumers for their high nutritional value but are highly perishable due to the microbial decay. The use of active packaging that is able to interact with the food through releasing or absorbing substances can be a valid approach to preserve the quality and increase the fruit’s shelf-life. In this paper, an active packaging based on polyethylene (PE) filled with a nano-carrier of salicylate was prepared and characterized. Fresh blueberries were packaged in passive modified atmosphere packaging (pMA) for 13 days at 8 °C. The combination of the active filler in bulk and pMA showed a significant inhibition of mold development and a reduction of the respiration rate of fruits. Moreover, the release of salicylate on blueberries did not alter the fruits’ sensory traits and preserved the firmness and the nutritional quality. Finally, the combination of active packaging and pMA resulted a valid solution to extend blueberries’ shelf-life up to 13 days.

Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Active Fish Gelatin-Based Edible Films Added with Aloe Vera Gel

Edible films based on the addition of Aloe Vera gel (AV) into fish gelatin (FG) with antimicrobial and functional properties for food packaging applications were proposed in this work. AV showed an amphiphilic nature by infrared spectroscopy, high total phenolics content (TPC), antioxidant activity and thermal stability with an initial degradation temperature of 174 ± 2 °C. Mannose and glucose were quantified as main monosaccharides whereas the linkage composition study confirmed the presence of acemannan as main active polysaccharide. Three different formulations were obtained by the casting technique and the addition of AV contents of 0, 1 and 4 wt.% to FG, showing films with 4 wt.% of AV the best performance. The addition of AV did not significantly affect mechanical and barrier properties to oxygen and water vapour. However, some structural changes were observed by infrared spectroscopy and the obtained glass transition temperature values due to intermolecular interactions that increased the hydrophilicity and solubility of the resulting FG/AV films. A higher thermal stability was observed in films with AV content increasing the initial degradation and oxidation onset temperatures. An antimicrobial activity against S. aureus was also observed for FG/AV films. The addition of AV into FG could be proposed as a potential effective material to increase the postharvest quality of packed fruits and vegetables by retarding the microbial growth and extending the shelf-life of these food products.