The necessity for traceability has led to the development of barcodes and radiofrequency identification stickers that can trace a commodity from “farm to fork.”
Some farms and packinghouses now have barcodes on each container in the orchard that is read as it enters the packinghouse and is weighed and checked.
Radiofrequency identification systems have been given to both orchard pickers and packinghouse workers. As fruit is packed, the packer prints a label that includes a barcode, grower, count, date and time, pack house and variety details, and packer.
This enables fruit to be traced back to the orchard and row from which it was harvested and to know all the steps it took along the way to the consumer.
In the area of produce quality, packinghouses have units of quality assessment, where samples of the produce entering the packinghouse as well as along the packing line are examined for quality.
Recent innovations are instruments that can determine various aspects of quality nondestructively.
On many packinghouse lines, currently fruit is automatically graded for color and blemishes by online cameras that photograph the fruit and send it to the proper sorting line.
This is combined with sorting for weight or size by automatic weighing cups that send different sizes to different lines. Newer technologies include near-infrared spectrometers that can examine internal quality, particularly soluble solids or sugars, as well as acoustic instruments that can measure firmness.
These are now being supplied in new packinghouse lines, and in addition, hand-held instruments are in development for use in orchards to determine picking date.
Biotechnological approaches are also useful for enhancing the shelf life and quality of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, but the public acceptance of this technology is limited.
Several information sites describing the optimal storage procedures have also increased the importance and understanding of postharvest storage