Chapter Thirteen - Effectiveness of evaporative coolant structures in reducing spoilage microorganisms

Abstract

The role of evaporative coolant structures in minimizing food, fruit, and vegetable spoilage and in improving their quality and shelf life cannot be overemphasized. These storage systems function under different storage conditions of reduced temperature and increased relative humidity. Evidence from the literature shows that different horticultural crops are better preserved when stored using a zero energy cooling system. The construction of such cooling systems has improved over the years. In addition to the use an evaporative cooling system, horticultural crops are pretreated with different agents that aid in better storage. This chapter discusses the effectiveness of different evaporative coolant structures in mitigating the activities of spoilage microorganisms and in promoting the storage and shelf life of food crops.