An influence of a load coefficient in refrigeration chambers on carrots preservation

Abstract

The following paper represents a study of one of a significant factor in fruit and vegetable products preservation - the load coefficient of refrigeration chambers, and based on the authors’ experimental study of carrots preservation in storages with 50 and 30% load, which is most typical of spring storage of root crops. The problem of fruits and vegetables preservation dependence on the load factor of storages has not been considered enough in scientific literature, which was confirmed in the review of literature sources in this field. Also it has been revealed that the load factor of chambers has a significant effect on the output of standard products, registered losses and natural loss. The especially negative effect of underloading the chambers (by 70%) is shown in the spring period (when they already were storaged for 6 months). At once, the load factor influence on preservation of mechanically damaged carrots is more remarkable than that for undamaged ones. Placing carrots in polyethylene bags or plastic boxes when loading the chambers can moderate the negative impact of underload – a situation which commonly occurs after 3 months of storage due to the sale of root crops and partial unload in refrigeration chambers. In addition, it was found that long-term storage of products in refrigerated chambers with a low load factor not only worsens conditions of carrots, but also increases operating costs, which reduces storage economic efficiency.