Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the variability in ambient air conditions (temperature and relative humidity) and periods of exposure on the same batch of table grapes in the first stages of the fruit supply chain (harvesting, processing and storage prior to commercialization), in order to predict their dynamic shelf life. To estimate the shelf life we used a linear prediction model dependent on time and ambient air conditions (temperature and relative humidity). It was noted that during processing, there was considerable variations in ambient air conditions that grapes were exposed to, especially in harvesting stage. The ambient of following stages showed homogeneity in air conditions, but the residence time and the way of palletizing grapes affected their shelf life. We observed heterogeneity in the shelf life among different grape pallets and among boxes on a same pallet, with variations of up to 34 days. Thus, we ascertained a heterogeneity in the quality of table grapes from the same production batch, due to the variability in ambient air conditions and period of exposure, which should be considered in the logistics management of the dynamic shelf life of the product in the cold chain.
Highlights
Losses and waste in the various stages of the food supply chain are significant in the global scenario
We were able to observe the uniformity of ambient air conditions inside the packinghouse (26,5 ± 1,0 °C e 68 ± 6% relative humidity (RH)), the cooling tunnel (-2,0 ± 1,0 °C e 80 ± 10% RH) and the cold storage room (0,5 ± 0,3 °C e 90 ± 8% RH)
High heterogeneity in ambient conditions was observed during grapes cold chain, especially inside the cooling tunnel, in which the center of the pallets showed more elevated temperatures and lower relative humidity when compared with the boxes of grapes located at the outer side of the pallets
Summary
Losses and waste in the various stages of the food supply chain are significant in the global scenario. About one third of food for human consumption is lost or wasted annually, which corresponds to 1.3 billion tons of food or, in monetary value, about US$ 1 trillion a year. This amount could feed about 2 billion people (Benítez, 2018). The impacts caused by food losses and waste are not restricted to economical and ethical ones. They result in major environmental and public health impacts. A large part of this occurs because many supply chains of perishable products are operating in a “below ideal” condition, especially regarding fresh fruits and vegetables, which have a shorter shelf life than canned and frozen products (Badia-Melis et al, 2018)
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