Chapter 5 - Microbiological impact and control strategies to monitor postharvest losses in fruits and vegetables

Abstract

Postharvest loss, especially in perishable commodities, is a primary concern globally, arising at the supply chain’s processing, handling, and storage stages. It is mainly because of the technical limitations in infrastructure handling, such as storage, packaging, and marketing. One of the primary causative agents is the microorganisms resulting in several postharvest fruits and vegetable disease which resulted in several postharvest diseases of fruits and vegetables. To evade this, there is a need to develop environmentally friendly and economical means to avoid the spread of microbial pathogens after harvesting the crop. Natural biocontrol agents over chemical and physical methods are emphasized as they are environmentally friendly and have a lesser impact on health. This book chapter has discussed the production and losses that occurred in fruits and vegetables along with the strategies to control the significant postharvest losses caused by microbial pathogens. This chapter also discussed the latest methods used to monitor the microbial population during the supply chain. We recommend that strengthening infrastructure and maintaining hygienic conditions during storage will address the global issue of postharvest loss and can lead to achieve the sustainable development goal (SDG) of “zero hunger.”