NTRODUCTION
There is n
o clear definition of the term ‘developing countries’
(DC), which encompasses a wide range
of countries with diverse challenges. Rising income
s
and widespread urbanization have been the most
important det
erminants behind the increase in food
consumption
, especially fresh fruits and
vegetables, and have also increased the importance of postharvest handling of fresh commodities
[
26;
32;33
]
.
The application of refrigeration, packing and packaging, transportat
ion, modified (MA) and
controlled atmospheres (CA) have improved significantly over the last 2 to 3 decades
[
33
]
.
However,
th
e establishment of an adequate ‘cold chain’
remains
the major obstacle facing the handling of foods
in general and fresh commoditie
s in particular
[
2;32;33
]
. More improvements in other handling
t
echniques are also still needed [3
4]
.
Following
the trend in developed coun
tries, consumer
interest in
functional foods has been increasing in some DC, and will continue to increase
[17
]
.
The
situation
in
DC is
very
different
from one country to another
.
A
s
food resources are limited,
not only new
technologies, but also conventional technologies have to be mobilized
to help solve complex problems