This specially curated collection features five reviews of current and key research on fruit losses and waste.
The first chapter reviews the magnitude of losses and waste of fruit and vegetables as well as key issues in estimating losses. It provides a detailed assessment of the main causes of losses and waste together with strategies for their prevention.
The second chapter assesses the adoption of new, non-destructive technologies as a way of measuring harvest maturity and improving sorting operations to minimise the risk of product loss and waste.
The third chapter outlines the importance of harvest management of apples and considers the importance of various factors associated with fruit physiology, maturation and ripening to reduce losses.
The fourth chapter reviews existing research in the preservation of fruit quality and reduction of post-harvest damage and loss by adopting suitable technologies and knowledge during post-harvest operation, storage management, transportation and marketing of mango fruit.
The final chapter explores the advantages and disadvantages of cultivating ripening-impaired tomato mutants. It describes how controlling tomato diseases in both pre- and postharvest operations can help avoid fruit losses.
Autorentext
Professor Elhadi M. Yahia is Professor and Senior Research Scientist at the Autonomous University of Querétaro, Mexico. He is also a Courtesy Professor at the University of Florida, USA. Prof. Yahia has published 20 books in 3 languages and more than 300 book chapters and articles on post-harvest handling of fresh produce. He has worked at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) where he helped launch the Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction. He has served as a consultant to many organizations such as the FAO, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), USAID, USDA and ICARDA. He is member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences, The Scientific Research Society (Sigma Xi) and The Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) of the World Food Logistics Organization.
Inhalt
Chapter 1 - Losses and waste in fruits and vegetables: Elhadi M. Yahia, Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, Mexico; and Jorge M. Fonseca, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Italy;
Chapter 2 - Pre- and post-harvest strategies to optimize fruit quality and shelf life: Peter Toivonen, Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada;
Chapter 3 - Advances in postharvest handling and storage of apples: Christopher B. Watkins, Cornell University, USA;
Chapter 4 - Post-harvest storage management of mango fruit: Noam Alkan, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Volcani Center, Israel; and Anirudh Kumar, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Volcani Center, Israel and Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU), India;
Chapter 5 - Understanding and improving the shelf life of tomatoes: K. Wang and A. K. Handa, Purdue University, USA; and A. K. Mattoo, USDA-ARS, USA;