Perishable Items Research Articles

Dehydration of Food Materials using Solar Dryer with Mobile App Integration

This study explores the development and integration of a solar dryer system using microcontrollers-NodeMCU and Arduino UNO with a mobile application to enhance the efficiency and user experience of food drying processes. The solar dryer utilizes renewable energy from the sun to dehydrate fruits, vegetables, and other perishable items, contributing to reduced energy consumption and environmental impact. The integration with a mobile app aims to provide users with remote control and monitoring capabilities, making the drying process more convenient and user-friendly. The mobile application allows users to select the specific product to dry and monitor drying parameters such as temperature and humidity levels, providing a customizable and automated experience. The integration of a solar dryer with a mobile app not only enhances the sustainability of food preservation but also promotes efficient resource management. By leveraging the power of renewable energy and smart technology, this system aims to contribute to the global shift towards eco-friendly and technologically advanced solutions for agriculture and food processing. The proposed solar dryer represents a step forward in creating a more sustainable and user-centric approach to food preservation, aligning with the growing demand for innovative solutions in the realm of renewable energy and smart agriculture.

Using IoT and AI to replenish household food supplies: A systematic review

Food wastage because of the lack or incompletion of a household replenishment system is an essential topic to be addressed. An appropriate utilization of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies with particular components is needed to design a smart household replenishment system to reduce food wastage. Therefore, this systematic review is dedicated to survey papers utilizing IoT and AI tools for perishable items storage compartments, as they are always full of items that need to be monitored. This study was conducted by following the PRISMA search strategy. It examined 70 papers in chronological order starting from 2000 when LG Electronics invented the first smart refrigerator, and research on technology involvement in food storage compartments increased. This comprehensive research aims to point out the approaches, contributions, used components and limitations of the reviewed papers to develop a unified framework for a household replenishment system. The analysis resulted in 43 approaches using IoT technology, 27 using AI, and recently the use of AIoT has been trending in the past two years. This systematic review provides future directions for researchers acquired from the limitations of the reviewed papers to enhance the household replenishment system by developing and adding required features in smart food storage compartments. Further investigation into smart home appliances would lead to extensive approaches like smart shops, industries, and eventually smart cities.

Analysis of Cold Storage Capacity Utilization in Jharkhand: Special Reference to Agriculture Finance

Agriculture is the leading occupation for the people of the Jharkhand. State has potential to produce horticulture product and this type of product like fruits and vegetables need cold storage industry because It plays a significant role for the agricultural sector where various items such as Vegetables, fruits and meat etc.is stored where temperature is maintained, so as to protect them from getting spoiled and there by extend their preservation period with the help of precision instruments. Cold storages are an acute technology to keep perishable items safe.
 It is also an industry to increase revenue by protecting and reducing the wastage of fruits & vegetables. Cold storage is a place where an item is needed can be taken anytime and can be made available to consumers very easily. Due to non-availability of space in the existing cold storage units, farmers are facing hardships to store their produced. The purpose of the study to analyze the current scenario of cold storage capacity in Jharkhand. It has been seen that there is a wide gap in availability of cold storages and agriculture produce to the markets. There are only 25 storage which has 80625MT capacity in Jharkhand. So, the urgent need for affordable, reliable, and sustainable expansion of cold storage infrastructure is crucial to boost agriculture's economic contribution. Farmers need the right financing and storage for the right price, enabling them to directly connect with multiple markets and maximize socio-economic impact.

Impact of the Discount Policies on the Purchasing Behaviour of Perishable Items

This study presents the results obtained from a survey intended to assess how consumer behavior towards perishable items is affected by discount policies and promotional strategies. To this aim, a survey was designed to investigate all the factors that, based on the findings of the scientific literature, can influence purchasing decisions. The survey was submitted to a sample of 496 consumers, randomly selected among the Italian population. From the results obtained, practical suggestions for the development of analytical and numerical models can be derived, thus allowing simulation and optimization of inventory management policies for perishable items, coupled with pricing policies aimed to minimize waste and maximise profit.

A non-basic model: a case of perishable items with different demand locations

A non-basic model: a case of perishable items with different demand locations

A Fuzzy Bi-objective Mathematical Model for Perishable Medical Goods Supply Chain Network Considering Crisis Situations: An Empirical Study.

In case of crisis, the salvation of injuries depends on the timely provision of medical goods, relief supplies, and equipment. The aim of this study is to present a mathematical model for the supply chain network of perishable medical goods in crisis situation considering the uncertain environment. In this paper, a three-level supply chain including suppliers, intermediate warehouses, and final customers is developed for perishable medical items. The uncertainty of customer demand for service and the spent time in the intermediate warehouses are considered using the exponential distribution functions. Also, it is assumed that the life-cycle of perishable medical goods follow the Weibull distribution function. The model attempts to minimize the total costs of the supply chain and total presence time of perishable items in the whole chain. The LP-Metric method is employed for solving small-sized problems. Due to the NP-Hardness of the problem, the modified Multi-objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) are utilized as 2 well-known and efficient meta-heuristic algorithms for solving large-sized problems. The findings indicate that the meta-heuristic algorithms are efficient in achieving close to the optimal solution for large-size problems in a reasonable time. Also, the results demonstrate that NSGA-II outperforms MOPSO in terms of the high quality solution. Finally, the applicability of the model to real-world problems is demonstrated using a real case study. This paper can assist the planners and decision-makers of perishable drugs supply chain networks in crisis conditions with on-time supplying and distributing the required emergency items.

Application of ultrasound technology for the effective management of waste from fruit and vegetable

Food waste presents a continuous challenge for the food industry, leading to environmental pollution and economic issues. A substantial amount of waste, including by-products from fruits and vegetables, non-edible food items, and other waste materials, is produced throughout the food supply chain, from production to consumption. Recycling and valorizing waste from perishable goods is emerging as a key multidisciplinary approach within the circular bio-economy framework. This waste, rich in raw by-products, can be repurposed as a natural source of ingredients. Researchers increasingly focus on biomass valorization to extract and use components that add significant value. Traditional methods for extracting these bio-compounds typically require the use of solvents and are time-consuming, underscoring the need for innovative techniques like ultrasound (US) extraction. Wastes from the processing of fruits and vegetables in the food industry can be used to develop functional foods and edible coatings, offering protection against various environmental factors. This comprehensive review paper discusses the valorization of waste from perishable items like fruits and vegetables using US technology, not only to extract valuable components from waste but also to treat wastewater in the beverage industry. It also covers the application of biomolecules recovered from this process in the development of functional foods and packaging.

Dating Perishables to Refine the Chronology of Shrine Cave Use, the Goggle-eye Motif, and other Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon Iconography

Professional and avocational archaeologists have recovered thousands of perishable artifacts from caves and rockshelters across the southern US Southwest, but few have been radiocarbon dated. This article reviews thirty AMS radiocarbon dates obtained on perishable items from nine shrine caves in the Jornada and Mimbres Mogollon regions of south-central New Mexico and west Texas. Dates were obtained from fragments of tablitas, effigies, prayer sticks, projectile point foreshafts, and flat curved sticks. Several convey iconographic elements of the Jornada Style of rock art while others are implements and weapons, but all were deposited in shrine caves. Problems inherent in the dating of shrine cave deposits and perishable artifacts are reviewed and technical matters involving contamination, curation, context, and sample materials are discussed. Analysis reveals several significant trends, one of the most salient being that the Goggle-eye motif, a signature element of Jornada and Mimbres iconography, has greater antiquity than previously assumed.

How to Find Disruptions in Logistics Processes in the Cold Chain and Avoid Waste of Products?

This article presents a review of the literature related to the topic discussed and then discusses the system enabling the collection of data for analysis, the components of which are described in the paper. Next, a case study containing analyses of the circulation of logistic containers and the quality of deliveries is presented. Finally, a discussion of the results is presented. Background: This research is instrumental in navigating the intricacies of using these insulated containers of disturbances in the cold supply chain is imperative for ensuring the safety of perishable items, pharmaceuticals, and medical provisions, all of which necessitate precise temperature storage. Moreover, it holds significant sway over the efficacy of logistics, curtails losses, and guarantees adherence to regulatory stipulations and quality benchmarks. Research target: The research aimed to analyze the circulation of isothermal containers and indirectly assess the transportation quality for food products using the example of a 3PL company. Method: The article addresses issues encountered in the transportation of products within the cold supply chain. Using a company as an example, the temperature of coolboxes at the beginning of the logistics cycle, temperature distribution during transportation, and the temperature at the end of delivery were analyzed. The circulation of containers, their utilization over time, cycle durations, and the entire container circulation process were also examined. Results: Based on the collected data, recommendations were formulated to enhance product quality and increase container utilization. This research offers valuable insights into improving the efficiency and quality of logistics processes, specifically within the cold chain transportation industry, and provides recommendations for better managing temperature-sensitive product transportation.

Vaccine distribution network opportunities on a national scale

Building an effective distribution network is a significant advantage for any company. This is especially true for easily damaged or perishable items, where the length and speed of the transport, as well as the loading time, play a major role in maintaining quality. In this article, we examined the transport/distribution options for the creation of a vaccine distribution network in Hungary, which can meet strict rules. We took into account the driver’s working hours, the maximum delivery time of the vaccine, the storage options of the county seats, and as a result we got the most efficient distribution plan of Hungary. To solve the problem, we use conventional-, greedy-, and heuristic algorithms, which were compiled by Excel and its SOLVER extension.

Shelf life enhancement technique of Musa acuminata in a controlled environment and optimization of process parameters affecting shelf life using genetic algorithm.

An economical and effective storage solution has been designed in this work for the storage of postharvest fruits and vegetables. Musa acuminata or banana has a shelf life of 5-6 days in open uncontrolled environment. This article reports a storage solution of M. acuminata in a controlled enclosure containing titanium oxide (TiO2 )-coated inner walls and irradiated with ultraviolet ray of band "C," an air filtration unit, 5% by volume potassium permanganate (KMnO4 ) solution in a clay pot, grow lights, and activated charcoal granules. The same fruit was kept in an uncontrolled environment too. The percentages of dark spots on banana (M. acuminata) upon storage in controlled and uncontrolled environments have been estimated using an image-processing algorithm. The prediction of dark spots was conducted using multi-linear and multivariate polynomial regression. Experimentation with optimum process parameters obtained with genetic algorithm resulted in a shelf life extension of 6 days as compared to its storage in an uncontrolled environment. The setup can be used in vegetable and fruit markets for the extension of shelf life of postharvest perishable items in a compact and cost-effective manner. The setup does not use any refrigeration process thereby decreasing energy requirement.

The Foods of Love? Food Gifts, Courtship and Emotions in Long Eighteenth-Century England

Abstract This article rediscovers the importance of food gifts in navigating the process of courtship in England during the long eighteenth century. Studies of courtship and gift-exchange to date have demonstrated how courting couples exchanged a wide range of gifts to produce and intensify feelings of love and advance their relationships toward the altar, from garters and gloves to ribbons, rings, portrait miniatures and locks of hair. Yet the edible gift has remained conspicuously absent from this picture. The article reinserts edible tokens into the historiography of love and marriage, revealing how they operated as an indispensable and unique part of the ‘gift mode’ during courtship. It demonstrates how courting couples exchanged a wide range of foodstuffs from cakes and sweetmeats to game, fowl, fish, exotic fruits and home-grown produce. In doing so, the article advances the burgeoning field of emotions and material culture by demonstrating how organic or perishable items could function as powerful emotional objects, able to nourish the human body, provide a source of sensual and gustatory pleasure and elicit feelings of joy, delight, love and desire. In turn, these gifts show courtship made everyday, transacted between couples and their families, and situated in gardens and squares, shops, theatres and around a family's tea table.

On the value of multi-echelon inventory management strategies for perishable items with on-/off-line channels

The progress of digitization makes the integration of online and offline sales channels increasingly necessary for retailers. Multichannel and omnichannel multi-echelon networks are gradually more common in responding to customer demands, but their complexity makes the optimization of replenishment and item allocation policies among different channels challenging, especially if products have a short shelf life, as in the case of food retailers, where customer behavior (e.g., first-/last- in-first-out selection) also plays a role. It is not always possible to solve this problem exactly and heuristics are required. We propose a dynamic model and jointly optimize allocation and replenishment policies in the case of perishable goods with stochastic demand, uncertainty in customer selection preferences, and fixed lead times. We study complexity and structure of optimal policies. Furthermore, we explore several intuitive generalizations of base-stock policies over multi-echelon networks, analyzing the effect that potential correlations and imbalances in demand volumes across channels generate on the heuristics and identifying the pros and cons of such solutions. Results show that inventory-pooling effects in multi-echelon models for perishable items are often combined with the allocation of fresher products to offline channels. Generalizations of the well-known constant-order or base-stock policies can be a viable solution that generates benefits and increases system flexibility. They advantageously leverage negative channel correlation, but in the case of unbalanced demand distributions, increased offline demand can impoverish the quality of some heuristics.

Multiroute fresh produce green routing models with driver fatigue using Type-2 fuzzy logic-based DFWA

In developing countries, 40 percent of fresh fruits and vegetables are generally transported through nonrefrigerated vehicles and perishes before use, and wholesalers lose potential profits due to item rot. Here, a wholesaler’s conveyance with fresh goods starts from a depot and returns to it after dropping the amounts at nodes (retailers) as per previously placed orders. As a perishable item’s freshness (color and texture) changes with time, the item’s selling price depends on its freshness at the time of delivery to retailers. There are multiple route connections among retailers and depots. Due to fatigue, the driver takes 15 minutes to rest after every two hours during the journey; otherwise, they are at risk of becoming overtired. Under these circumstances, multiroute fresh produce green routing models (MrFPGRMs) are formulated considering the product’s freshness, optimum routing plan, appropriate routes, sales revenue, vehicle’s running cost and speed, costs and times due to transportation and unloading, fixed charges, greenness (fuel cost), driver’s salary and fatigue. The objective is to find the optimum routing plan, best-suited routes between the nodes, and vehicle velocity for the wholesaler’s maximum profit, minimum fuel cost, or both. Virgin discrete fireworks algorithms are developed for the solution based on Type-1 and Type-2 fuzzy logic (T1FLDFWA and T2FLDFWA). Numerical experiments are performed through the T2FLDFWA for two time-dependent freshness functions, one of which is new. The results against driver rest, no rest, continuous journey risk, and a trade-off between profit and greenness are presented. Pareto fronts for multiobjectives are depicted. Some managerial decisions are observed.

Advancements in Household Refrigeration: Evaluating Cooling Efficiency and Sustainability through Innovative Technologies

Abstract: Household refrigeration technology has undergone significant advancements in recent years, driven by the need for energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, and improved cooling performance. This comprehensive study delves into various aspects of household refrigerators, including single condenser systems, double condenser configurations, and the integration of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) on the condenser surface. In Case 1, we conducted experiments to determine the cooling capacity of a standard household refrigerator equipped with a single condenser. Precise measurements and data analysis allowed us to evaluate its cooling efficiency, a crucial factor in preserving perishable items and assessing energy consumption. Case 2 extended our investigation to refrigerators with double condenser units, aiming to understand their impact on cooling performance. By comparing results with Case 1, we evaluated the potential advantages of this configuration in terms of cooling capacity and energy efficiency

Review Presentation of Different Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) Models and Their Application

In the context of inventory management, this review presentation offers a thorough overview of several Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) models and their real-world uses. It explores the fundamental EOQ model and broadens to incorporate models that account for perishable items, quantity discounts, and scarcity prices. The talk also looks at the many sectors in which these models are used to optimize order amounts, save costs, and improve operational efficiency. Businesses may improve their inventory control strategies, realize considerable cost savings, and increase performance by making educated decisions based on a thorough grasp of the various EOQ models and their practical implementations.

Surrogate-assisted evolutionary optimization for perishable inventory management in multi-echelon distribution systems

Simulation is widely used for analyzing supply chains with complex structures and stochastic nature. However, optimizing supply chain simulation models is usually computationally expensive. This study proposes a surrogate-assisted evolutionary optimization approach to optimize the inventory policies in multi-echelon distribution systems for perishable items under a limited number of evaluations. The random forest algorithm is used to build the surrogate model for a faster estimation of the performance of the inventory policies. A co-evolutionary differential evolution algorithm is proposed to simultaneously evolve the population through multiple searching strategies. The generated solutions are estimated by the low-cost surrogate model to select the promising solutions, which will be evaluated by the inventory model. Moreover, this study also integrates the surrogate model into two classic metaheuristic algorithms, particle swarm optimization and differential evolution. Also, a new performance indicator is proposed to examine the efficiency of the surrogate model in evolutionary computation. Two case studies are used to investigate the performance of the proposed algorithms. The experimental results show that both particle swarm optimization and differential evolution exhibit performance improvements exceeding 55% by using surrogate models under the limited number of function evaluations. Furthermore, the surrogate model reduces computational time for both algorithms by over 34% to achieve equivalent objective values. Finally, the proposed co-evolutionary differential evolution algorithm is compared with 12 algorithms, and the results show that the proposed algorithm consistently outperforms them. These findings confirm the usefulness of the surrogate model in evolutionary algorithms and the effectiveness of the proposed co-evolutionary strategy for solving perishable inventory problems.

Hybridizing a matheuristic with ALNS for the optimal collection and delivery of medical specimens

AbstractThe past few years of the COVID‐19 pandemic outbreak have shown that optimal management of medical specimens is a key aspect of healthcare logistics, both for addressing the delivery of perishable items such as vaccines, and for ensuring the timely analysis of swabs and samples. Accordingly, recent optimization literature described the problem of optimal collection and delivery of medical specimens, modeled as a multitrip vehicle routing problem with time windows and a completion time objective function. Aiming to achieve good‐quality solutions in short computational times, this work describes a hybrid approach, combining a matheuristic construction phase with an adaptive large neighborhood search (ALNS). Our matheuristic relies on a clustering algorithm to yield subsets of the medical specimens that are optimally served by single vehicles of the fleet. The solutions of the matheuristic phase serve as starting points for the ALNS intensification phase. Extensive experimentation on both new and established benchmark problem instances shows that our hybrid method is able to match the optimality of the state of the art on small instances and outperforms the existing exact method by one order of magnitude on larger problems.

Predicting food waste in households with children: socio-economic and food-related behavior factors.

The consumption phase accounts for approximately half of the food waste generated within the food system. Numerous studies have identified families with children as the primary contributors to food waste. The aims of this paper is to enhance the comprehension of food waste behaviors in households with children by characterizing it and studying how socioeconomic characteristics and food-related behaviors can predict it. A survey was conducted among 806 families with children, categorized by the child's age and family structure. The study utilized descriptive statistics to summarize the food waste behaviors and binary regression to evaluate the predictive abilities of 12 variable related to the socio-economic characteristic, purchase, and preparation behaviors and diet quality factors. Perishable food items, such as fruits, vegetables, cereal-based product, and dairy products, were the primary items wasted in households with children. Two patterns of food waste were identified: inadequate food management leading to small amounts of waste in families with young and middle-aged children, and over-purchasing perishable items leading to waste in other households with children. Household type and purchasing habits were significant predictors, while the purchaser's age and buying channel showed lower predictive capacity. Policies to reduce food waste should prioritize raising awareness among children, promoting good practices at the household level, and creating favorable conditions during purchases. Strategies include enlisting children's participation in meal planning and food preparation as well as limiting the promotion of ultra-processed products and incentivizing the sale of bulk products at supermarket.

Equitable distribution of perishable items in a food bank supply chain

In the United States, food banks play an important role in helping to reduce the rate of food insecurity by distributing donated food among the population in need. One of the challenges that food banks face is to equitably distribute food donations among their clients such that, ideally, each recipient receives the same amount of food. They aim to do so while minimizing waste that occurs due to spoilage and capacity limitations. Perishable food items present specific challenges since they are susceptible to spoilage and need to be distributed before their expiry dates. Based on our longstanding partnership with a large food bank located in the southeastern United States, we present a capacitated, multiperiod, multiproduct network flow model to help them equitably and effectively distribute perishable food donations among the food‐insecure population in their service region. The model is applied within the context of a case study and reveals managerial insights that would be useful to practitioners. Our findings show that although equity is one of the food bank's highest priorities, inequities cannot be eliminated completely. Given the inevitability of inequitable food allocations in practice, this paper provides food banks guidance on how to strategically control inequities using two approaches: ( i) by increasing the number of periods for which equity should be satisfied or ([Formula: see text]) by allowing deviations from a perfectly equitable distribution. The results show that modest deviations from perfect equity using either approach can lead to significant improvements in both the quality and quantity of food distributed and can also reduce food waste. While approach ([Formula: see text]) is preferable, the most desirable outcomes occur when both are applied simultaneously. We also find that county capacities inhibit a food bank's ability to achieve balance between equity and effectiveness when distributing perishables. Our framework provides food banks the flexibility to balance the trade‐off between effectiveness and equity based on their preferences.