Abstract
Farm-to-table operations produce, transport, and deliver produce to consumers in very different ways than conventional, corporate-scale agriculture operations. As a result, the time it takes to get a freshly picked fruit to the consumer is relatively short and the expectations of the consumer for freshness and quality are high. Since many of these operations involve small farms and small businesses, resources to deploy sensors and instruments for monitoring quality are scarce compared to larger operations. Within stringent power, cost, and size constraints, this article analyzes chemical sensor technologies suitable for monitoring fruit quality from the point of harvest to consumption in farm-to-table operations. Approaches to measuring sweetness (sugar content), acidity (pH), and ethylene gas are emphasized. Not surprisingly, many instruments developed for laboratory use or larger-scale operations are not suitable for farm-to-table operations. However, there are many opportunities still available to adapt pH, sugar, and ethylene sensing to the unique needs of localized farm-to-table operations that can help these operations survive and expand well into the future.
Highlights
At its core, farm-to-table is a social movement organized to provide economic benefits to local communities, reduce the climate and environmental impacts of growing food for human consumption, and improve the nutritional value and flavor of food at the point of consumption
Combined with small farm practices, both fruits and vegetables supplied by farm-to-table operations are likely to offer greater nutritional value and flavor than produce generated by corporate agriculture operations
Coupling the mechanical signal to an optical rather than electrical signal can offer much higher detection limits. Such nano-optomechanical systems can achieve motion detection limits on the order of femtometers and can enable single molecule detection in liquids [92]. While these optomechanical sensors offer the small size appropriate for sensing pH while fruit are in storage or in transport, their cost may not be compatible with the small volume applications that are typical of farm-to-table operations
Summary
Farm-to-table is a social movement organized to provide economic benefits to local communities, reduce the climate and environmental impacts of growing food for human consumption, and improve the nutritional value and flavor of food at the point of consumption. Despite the long distances that fruit and vegetables travel to reach the consumer, transportation of food accounts for only 11% of the greenhouse gas emissions incurred by food production [2]. As or more important than greenhouse gas emissions incurred when fruit must travel long distances to reach the point of consumption are the nutrients lost between harvest and consumption. Combined with small farm practices, both fruits and vegetables supplied by farm-to-table operations are likely to offer greater nutritional value and flavor than produce generated by corporate agriculture operations. In order to be successful in farm-to-table, small farms must diversify the fruits, vegetables, and other products that they produce, devise strategies to supply products such as cold storage vegetables and meat during the winter months, and invest in multiple supply chains ranging from direct-to-consumer farmers markets to restaurant supported agriculture [8]. This review of chemical sensor technologies focuses on these three parameters (sweetness/sugar content, acidity/pH, and ripeness/ethylene emissions) not because they are all that matters in determining fruit quality but because they are common to all fruits in influencing overall quality
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