In agriculture, postharvest handling is the stage of crop
production immediately following harvest, including cooling,
cleaning, sorting and packing.
The instant a crop is removed from the ground, or separated
from its parent plant, it begins to deteriorate. Postharvest
treatment largely determines final quality, whether a crop is
sold for fresh consumption, or used as an ingredient in a
processed food product.
The most important goals of post-harvest handling are
keeping the product cool, to avoid moisture loss and slow
down undesirable chemical changes, and avoiding physical
damage such as bruising, to delay spoilage.
Sanitation is also an important factor, to reduce the
possibility of pathogens that could be carried by fresh
produce, for example, as residue from contaminated washing
water.
After the field, post-harvest processing is usually
continued in a packing house. This can be a simple
shed, providing shade and running water, or a largescale, sophisticated, mechanized facility, with
conveyor belts, automated sorting and packing
stations, walk-in coolers and the like. In
mechanized harvesting, processing may also begin
as part of the actual harvest process, with initial
cleaning and sorting performed by the harvesting
machinery.
Initial post-harvest storage conditions are critical
to maintaining quality. Each crop has an optimum
range for storage temperature and humidity. Also,
certain crops cannot be effectively stored together,
as unwanted chemical interactions can result.
Various methods of high-speed cooling, and
sophisticated refrigerated and atmospherecontrolled environments, are employed to prolong
freshness, particularly in large-scale operations.
Regardless of the scale of harvest, from
domestic garden to industrialized farm,
the basic principles of post-harvest
handling for most crops are the same:
handle with care to avoid damage
(cutting, crushing, bruising), cool
immediately and maintain in cool
conditions, and cull (remove damaged
items).
In agriculture, postharvest handling is the stage of cropproduction immediately following harvest, including cooling,cleaning, sorting and packing. The instant a crop is removed from the ground, or separatedfrom its parent plant, it begins to deteriorate. Postharvesttreatment largely determines final quality, whether a crop issold for fresh consumption, or used as an ingredient in aprocessed food product. The most important goals of post-harvest handling arekeeping the product cool, to avoid moisture loss and slowdown undesirable chemical changes, and avoiding physicaldamage such as bruising, to delay spoilage. Sanitation is also an important factor, to reduce thepossibility of pathogens that could be carried by freshproduce, for example, as residue from contaminated washingwater. After the field, post-harvest processing is usuallycontinued in a packing house. This can be a simpleshed, providing shade and running water, or a largescale, sophisticated, mechanized facility, withconveyor belts, automated sorting and packingstations, walk-in coolers and the like. Inmechanized harvesting, processing may also beginas part of the actual harvest process, with initialcleaning and sorting performed by the harvestingmachinery. Initial post-harvest storage conditions are criticalto maintaining quality. Each crop has an optimumrange for storage temperature and humidity. Also,certain crops cannot be effectively stored together,as unwanted chemical interactions can result.Various methods of high-speed cooling, andsophisticated refrigerated and atmospherecontrolled environments, are employed to prolongfreshness, particularly in large-scale operations. Regardless of the scale of harvest, fromdomestic garden to industrialized farm,the basic principles of post-harvesthandling for most crops are the same:handle with care to avoid damage(cutting, crushing, bruising), coolimmediately and maintain in coolconditions, and cull (remove damageditems).
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