Perishable Products Research Articles

Performance evaluation and economic analysis of inclined solar dryer for Capsicum annuum L. (Red chilli) drying

This study presents an assessment of the performance and economic viability of solar dryers for drying perishable agricultural products. The dryer was constructed using locally sourced materials such as galvanized iron sheet, M.S. angle, glass, and S.S. wire mesh. The ability to tilt the dryer allows for optimal solar radiation absorption throughout the year in Jodhpur, India. It is well-established that a tilted surface captures more solar radiation compared to a horizontal plane, hence the utilization of a solar dryer in this research. A drying experiment was carried out in January 2023 using the dryer to dehydrate red chilli (Capsicum annuum L.). The maximum stagnation temperature inside the drying chamber was recorded at 65°C, which decreased to 55°C when loaded with 10 kg of chilli, while the outside ambient temperature was 26°C on a clear sky day (from 08:00 h to 18:00 h) in January 2023. Over the course of seven days, the moisture content of the chilli decreased from 80% (wet basis) to approximately 9%. The open sun drying method took 14 days for reducing the moisture content of red chillies to the same level. The dryer's thermal efficiency was calculated to be 16.25%. The economic analysis of the solar dryer indicated a high internal rate of return (IRR) of 82.5% and a short payback period of 1.50 years, highlighting its cost-effectiveness. The cost-benefit ratio was found to be 1.98, demonstrating the potential of solar dryers as a substitute for traditional drying methods. Economic parameters such as net present value (₹40220) and system annuity (₹5430) confirmed the economic feasibility of the system. Inclined solar dryers in remote or rural areas have the potential to significantly reduce postharvest losses and carbon emissions. The adoption of solar dryers would greatly benefit farmers in the arid region of Rajasthan.

High‐pressure processing for inactivation of enzymes, microbes, and its effect on nutritional composition of tender coconut water

AbstractTender coconut water (TCW) processing has been a challenge and is often accompanied by challenges such as beneficial bioactive compound deterioration and enzymatic and non‐enzymatic browning initiation. Fresh TCW was treated with a combination of pressure (350–550 MPa) and treatment time (3–7 min). This study unveiled the potency of high‐pressure processing (HPP) in reducing undesirable enzyme activity, such as polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) activity in TCW by up to 36.472% and 30.606%, respectively. The maximum loss of vitamin C was reported to be 7.84% at 550 MPa/7 min compared to the untreated one, which is very acceptable in terms of quality retention. The total phenolic content and antioxidant activities were well retained and increased in the HPP‐treated TCW samples. Similarly, the total and reducing sugar reduction was within 20%–25%. The findings of this investigation demonstrated the effectiveness of high‐pressure processing in preserving quality and reducing the activity of enzymes that cause deterioration in TCW. Moreover, the aerobic plate count (APC) and yeast and mold count (YM) were decreased significantly (p < 0.05) after 450 MPa/5 min treatment.Practical applicationsOver the years, the food industry has been facing a consistent challenge in perishable product processing (juices, milk, meat, etc.) to extend its shelf‐life while keeping its nutritional and sensory properties intact. This study presented a significant insight into TCW processing regarding enzyme, microbial inactivation, and nutritional property preservation using HPP technology. Moreover, from a quality perspective, this work enables the HPP‐treated TCW to be as close to a fresh one without any preservative addition. HPP technique is believed to appeal to industries that seek a green alternative technique to thermal processing (which makes processed foods unacceptable among consumers) to produce minimally treated foods on a commercial scale.

Data-Driven Algorithms for Two-Location Inventory Systems

In this paper, we consider a multiperiod, two-location inventory system with unknown demand distributions and perishable products. Products can be transshipped from the location with excess inventory to the other with excess demand to better fulfill customer demand. The demand distributions are assumed to follow a family of parametric distributions and can only be learned on the fly. To address the challenge, we propose a data-driven inventory management algorithm called DD2LI that achieves a good performance in terms of regret. This algorithm, DD2LI, employs maximum likelihood estimation to approximate the unknown parameter and determines the order quantity based on these estimations. In addition, we emphasize a key assumption that tightens regret bound. Finally, we test the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm by conducting numerical experiments for two scenarios.

The Impact of Food Safety Criteria on Fruit and Vegetable Exports from Türkiye to The European Union

Food safety has become an increasingly important issue as people become more concerned about access to healthy food. Particularly in affluent societies such as the European Union, the increasing consumption of unhealthy fruits and vegetables and carcinogenic residues are constantly on the agenda. Reducing aflatoxin levels in dried foods to below health risk levels, eliminating them from food and ensuring access to healthy food are essential for food safety and human health. In this study, the impact of food safety practices in fruit and vegetable trade between the European Union and Türkiye was examined using mandarins, one of Türkiye’s main fresh fruit and vegetable exports, and the European Union Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) notifications for food and feed for the period between 2019 and 2022. The reasons for these notifications and the requests made in this context were examined and a TOWS analysis matrix was created based on the findings obtained. In conclusion, residue and aflatoxin inspections should be included in traceability activities in Türkiye. Producers need to be informed to ensure the effectiveness of inspections. It is crucial to provide adequate support to producers to improve storage conditions for perishable and dry products and to encourage the use of the latest production techniques. It is of great importance to raise awareness of these techniques among producers. Thus, the European Union can be an alternative market to the Russian Federation, which is Türkiye’s largest trading partner.

Consumer meat safety knowledge and hygiene practices in a veterinary disease-controlled area of South Africa

Consumers’ practices and knowledge play a significant role in ensuring meat safety and hygiene application. This is important in an environment where the slaughter and release of such meat is restricted and not always controlled and monitored. This could have been contributed by the lack of slaughter facilities; the controlled movement of live animal restrictions applicable in a typical veterinary diseases-controlled area. The aim of this investigation was to identify meat hygiene practices and general meat safety knowledge applied by consumers of central Bushbuckridge, South Africa. Structured interviews (n=81) were conducted with consumers observed purchasing meat from local meat supply centres. Data analysis was achieved by SAS Statistical software (Version 26) SAS and graphs were drawn using MS Excel 2020. The majority (84.2%, σ=29.4) of the consumers indicated that meat supplied in the region were from registered facilities. The general belief amongst the consumers was that routine hygiene inspection was conducted by authorities at all meat distributing or butchery facilities (74.1%, σ=39.7). None of the facilities or/and butcheries in the study area was registered and therefore, no formal regulated practices could have been conducted. Slaughter and distribution of meat within the area were seen as a good business by 78.6%, σ=18.9 of the consumers, and as a result, the consumers did not have a problem with widespread slaughter and release of this meat to the public outside of those facilities. The extent of hygiene application practices at household level varied. These included the assurance that perishable products were properly handled after purchase (84.1%, σ=8.3), and the handling or transportation of sourced meat did not comply with cold chain management prescripts (39.9%, σ=44.9). The likelihood of consumers feeling the same about meat hygiene concerns and practices is undoubtedly low as represented by a high standard deviation (σ) of the responses. These results show that consumers were relying on authorities for meat safety assurances. This ought to caution authorities on consumer practices and needed interventions such as animal movement policies enforcement. The adoption of such policies by consumers lies with the development and rollout of consumer awareness and meat safety assurances training programs. Key words: abattoir, consumer practices, illegal slaughter, meat safety, meat hygiene

Evaluation of convective drying with cold and hot air of mint (Mentha spicata) leaves

Mentha spicata, commonly known as peppermint, is a medicinal herb that is used for its pharmacological properties, obtained from its extracts and essential oils that have different health benefits, such as antioxidants, anticancer, antiparasitic, antimicrobial, and antidiabetic effects. In Mexico, it is estimated that around 130 tons of this perishable product are wasted per year, mainly due to various marketing problems. To minimize this loss, it is proposed to dehydrate it and thus prolong its shelf life. Two methods were used: first, hot air at 50 °C and 1 m/s velocity; the second one, with air at room temperature and the same velocity for 90 min and then, raise of temperature to 50 °C and the same velocity of air. In the first case 220 min and a total energy of 1800 W were needed, and with the combination of ambient temperature and later with hot air, 1700 W were required, but 290 min were used in total. In this later case the energy saving was marginal, so it is necessary to make a valorization between both methods. With respect to the numerical model that best simulates the behavior, the Henderson-Pabis model was suitable in both cases. Also, the color variation was very small, so both drying methods render similar results in the quality of the dried product.

Risk Factors of Perishable Product Supply Chain: Literature Review and A Proposed Framework for Future Research

United Nations statistics show that about one-third of globally transported perishable products are annually wasted due to damage. Where in the perishables supply chain is most likely to go wrong and how can this be corrected or prevented? This article aims to review the literature 50 articles related to the risk factors of perishable products supply chain and cluster the risk factors of perishable products supply chains. Identifying 140 risk factors from 235 risk factors through duplication filtering. And the researcher therefore clusters of risk factors with hierarchical clustering (divisive: distance matrix) into 19 clusters by KNIME machine learning. These findings offer valuable insights for future research on orchid’s supply chain risk management for sustainability in Thailand, top global orchid exporter. For the benefit of orchid supply chain stakeholders in Thailand can develop appropriate and sustainable supply chain risk management in the future. Thailand 3rd National Logistics Development Strategy (2017-2021) emphasizes cold chain logistics to elevate agricultural and industrial supply chains to meet standards. Implementing a cold chain system is vital to reduce losses, enhance traceability, and lower production costs.

Effect of pre-drying treatments on the quality of solar-dehydrated tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) fruits

Preserving surplus highly perishable products, such as tomatoes, through processing is an effective method, especially during periods of excess supply. Pre-treatment is commonly employed before the drying of agricultural goods to deactivate enzymes, expedite the drying process, and enhance the quality of the resulting dried products. An experiment was done to assess the impact of applying Sodium Metabisulphate, Sodium Chloride, and lemon juice as treatments on the quality of solar-dehydrated tomato (SDT) fruits. The trial consisted of four treatments, organized in a completely randomized design with three replications. The findings demonstrated a substantial increase in protein, crude fat, and total soluble solids levels in the treated samples compared to the control. Moisture content reduced from 96.70 %(wb) to 3.4 % for (db) for the sample pretreated with 5 % lemon juice which was higher than NaCl, SMBS, and Control samples with 3.1 %, 3.2 %, and 3.3 % (db) The experiment has shown that pre-drying treatment of tomato fruits with SMBS, and Lemon juice leads to increased levels of protein with 0.79 g in the treated sample, crude fat recorded at 3.2 % in the lemon juice sample, 10.72% of ash content in lemon juice, and 6.0% of total soluble sugars in lemon juice. Nevertheless, the Lemon juice, NaCl, and control samples exhibited comparable characteristics in terms of color, flavor, taste, and overall acceptability In contrast, the SMBS treatment resulted in superior color with 7.1 %, taste 7.2 %, and 8.3 % for general acceptance as indicated by a significant difference (p = 0.05). Hence, employing solar dehydration as a method to preserve the quality and extend the storage life of treated tomato fruits can serve as a viable technological alternative. Producers, processors, and traders of tomato fruits in Ghana can benefit from using Sodium Metabisulphate, Sodium Chloride, and lemon juice treatments.

A thorough evaluation of chitosan-based packaging film and coating for food product shelf-life extension

Chitosan is a cationic polysaccharide and derived from chitin present in exoskeleton of crustaceans such as prawns, crabs, and lobsters. This natural biopolymer chemical structure is identical to cellulose but insoluble in aqueous and organic solvents. Chitosan is an ecologically beneficial biodegradable alternative to synthetic polymers, notably typical plastics. Chitosan may be used to make a variety of films, coatings, and membranes, each having its own distinct features. Chitosan films are biodegradable, translucent, and have high mechanical strength, making them adequate for food packaging, water purification, and wound dressings. Chitosan-based films and coatings are often used for packaging foods such as fruits and vegetables, meat, and seafood. According to the findings, chitosan films have outstanding barrier qualities against UV radiation, gases, and moisture. They can assist in safeguarding packed objects from outside influences such as oxidation and humidity, which could degrade their quality. Chitosan's antibacterial qualities naturally limit the development of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Because of this property, chitosan-based films are useful for packaging perishable food products since they may extend shelf life by lowering microbial contamination. Modifying the chitosan content or adding additional components can change the mechanical strength and flexibility of the film. Surfaces may be treated with chitosan coatings to improve qualities such as water resistance, barrier properties, and antibacterial activity. This review article discusses different approaches such as solvent casting, extrusion, electrospinning, thermoplastic method, layer-by-layer assembly, spraying, dipping for the preparation of chitosan-based films and coatings. Further these food packaging material properties such as viscosity, thermal properties, optical properties, solubility, hydrophobicity, color, mechanical characteristics, barrier qualities, antibacterial properties, antioxidant activity and prolonging the shelf life of products is described in depth.

Blown film of PLA for packaging with green tea and fish industrial residues: An insight on their properties

The use of food waste on the production of packaging can be seen as a promising strategy to cost reduction and new properties. Moreover, packaging, besides food physical protection, should establish a barrier to light and oxygen together with antioxidant and antibacterial activity, to extend the shelf-life of perishable products. In this study, PLA films with the incorporation of natural additives (cold fish protein - cFG and green tea extract - GTE) were successfully produced by blown film extrusion. While PLA exhibits favorable water vapor barrier properties due to its hydrophobic nature, a significant drawback in terms of high oxygen permeability. Although the cFG and GTE incorporation into the PLA matrix decreased the water vapor barrier and mechanical properties, it improves the oxygen barrier along with wettability and antioxidant activity. Moreover, GTE polyphenol compounds seem to improve molecular interaction between the PLA and cFG particles by establishing a better dispersion with enhanced compatibility. These results exhibit the benefits of adding cFG and GTE to a PLA matrix to produce an active film with reliable properties for food packaging.

Sustainable cold supply chain design for livestock and perishable products using data-driven robust optimization

ABSTRACT Food products are a critical part of everyday life. To increase the efficiency of the food supply chain, designing a comprehensive mathematical is necessary. This study tries to optimize a protein supply chain. This supply chain is divided into livestock and perishable products. The integration of these two supply chain echelons has been applied to create an extensive model. Moreover, sustainability has been considered as a competitive advantage in the chain. Perishable products are temperature-sensitive. Hence, a cold supply chain has been considered. The model has three objective functions: maximizing the total profit, minimizing the storage cost in the cold chain, minimizing the health risk. In dealing with uncertainty, a data-driven robust optimization method has been used. Therefore, this paper used machine learning to construct the uncertainty sets from historical data. The Torabi-Hassini method has been implemented to solve the multi-objective model. Finally, to show the applicability and efficiency of the proposed approach, a real-world case study on the poultry supply chain, including abattoirs, breeding centers, slaughtering, and selling branches, has been applied. The result shows that this methodology significantly influences total profits and improves the environmental criteria in a real-world case study. Moreover, different sensitivity analyses have been prepared to help managers make a trade-off between the robustness of the model and objective function value with various weights and calculate the influence of supply chain integration on objective functions.

A joint sustainable order-packing vehicle routing optimisation for the cold chain e-fulfilment

AbstractDue to the new normal caused by the pandemic, consumer behaviour has now shifted to online shopping not only for general commodities but also for food and other perishable products. Therefore, e-commerce fulfilment is now integrated with cold chain capabilities to satisfy stringent requirements on time-criticality and product quality, leading to the concept of cold chain e-fulfilment. In the cold chain e-fulfilment process, perishable orders are packed in thermal packaging solutions and delivered to consumers before the quality preservation time window. To secure a sufficient time buffer during last mile delivery, excessive use of thermal packaging materials is applied, which creates an adverse environmental impact on our eco-system. Aligning with low-carbon business practices, this study proposes a novel joint optimization model, namely the Joint Optimization of Sustainable Order Packing and Multi-Temperature Delivery Problem (JOSOPMDP), for order packing and vehicle routing decisions, where the sustainable use of thermal packaging materials is promoted without negatively influencing product quality and customer satisfaction. To evaluate its viability and performance, three sets of computational experiments are subsequently conducted. It is found that the proposed model is feasible to strike a balance between order packing and vehicle routing decisions. Compared with the traditional strategy, the average total cost and satisfaction level are improved by 3.26% and 47.88%, respectively. Consequently, this research fosters sustainable thinking in the cold chain e-fulfilment process, minimizing environmental impact.

Bacteriological Analysis of Contamination Level of Selected Vegetables Sold in Some Markets in Niamey, Niger

Vegetables are an important food source of nutrients, vitamins and dietary fiber, and therefore play a vital role in human health and well-being. Unfortunately, they are perishable products that could be vectors for the transmission of infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to analyses the level of bacteriological contamination of the samples of tomatoes (29), carrots (12), lettuces (47) and onions (12) sold in five (5) markets of community urban of Niamey. To this end, contamination indicator germs such as Total Aerobic Mesophilic Flora (TAMF), Total Coliforms (TC), Faecal Coliforms (FC), Enterobacteria (Ent), Faecal Streptococci (FS), Clostridium perfringens (CP) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were enumerated, using methods specific to each germ. Analysis of the results showed tomatoes to be highly contaminated with FS, CP and E. coli (9.75±1.81.105; 1.33±2.30.105 and 2.25±2.48.105 CFU/g respectively), carrots with TAMF, FC, Ent (1.37±1.24.107; 4.48±0.34.106; 7.44±0.34.106 CFU/g respectively) and onions with TC (4.45±0.84.106 CFU/g). The sanitary quality of these vegetables is low. Hence the need for strict compliance with good hygiene practices in markets to ensure a healthy vegetable.

The Effect of Low Temperature Storage on the Lipid Quality of Fish, Either Alone or Combined with Alternative Preservation Technologies.

Marine foods are highly perishable products due to their high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, which can be readily oxidized to form peroxides and secondary oxidation products, thus conferring such foods undesirable organoleptic characteristics and generating harmful compounds that are detrimental to the health of consumers. The use of preservation methods that minimize lipid oxidation is required in the fishing and aquaculture industries. Low temperature storage (chilling or freezing) is one of the most commonly used preservation methods for fish and seafood, although it has been shown that the oxidation of the lipid fraction of such products is partially but not completely inhibited at low temperatures. The extent of lipid oxidation depends on the species and the storage temperature and time, among other factors. This paper reviews the effect of low temperature storage on the lipid quality of fish, either alone or in combination with other preservation techniques. The use of antioxidant additives, high hydrostatic pressure, irradiation, ozonation, ultrasounds, pulsed electric fields, and the design of novel packaging can help preserve chilled or frozen fish products, although further research is needed to develop more efficient fish preservation processes from an economic, nutritional, sensory, and sustainable standpoint.

Integration of supply chain model for perishable food products : focus on micro, small and medium enterprises

Managing perishable products is a business challenge for today, especially for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). This challenge becomes increasingly higher with increasingly competitive business competition which causes perishable products to become increasingly diverse and of high quality. Even though MSMEs face problems related to business innovation, especially in perishable products. So MSMEs need a perishable product business strategy to increase competitive advantage. The main purpose of this article is to integrate the perishable supply chain model for micro, small and medium enterprises. So that the implementation of the perishable supply chain model can be carried out well. This research method used a qualitative approach by conducting in depth interviews with twelve owners of MSMEs. Validation of the data in this study is shown by observing selected informants for cross-checking and validating the data. The analysis technique in this study uses MAXQDA software. The results of this study are that integration of each existing business function in a model, namely a perishable food supply chain, is very much needed. Perishable food supply chain integration is based on the perishable supply chain process, cost strategy and environmental and product safety analysis. The perishable supply chain process consists of production, shipment, processing, shipment, storage, distribution and demand markets. From the results of the coding system, it is also known that the distribution factor makes the largest contribution to the success of implementing the perishable food supply chain model. This supply chain model for perishable food for MSMEs is in accordance with the second sustainable development goals (SDGs), where problems related to hunger, malnutrition, and food security can be overcome well if this model is implemented in MSMEs. This research is in accordance with the eighth SDGs, where the hope is that MSMEs can increase decent work and sustainable economic growth. For further research, there needs to be integrated cooperation between various parties using the quadruple helix principle. So that MSMEs with perishable businesses can increase their competitive advantage.

The Impacts of Payment Schemes and Carbon Emission Policies on Replenishment and Pricing Decisions for Perishable Products in a Supply Chain

In the supplier–retailer–consumer system, the retailer’s replenishment and pricing strategies impact the entire transaction process, forming a comprehensive trading market. Suppliers offer advance-cash-credit payments to retailers, while retailers provide customers with cash-credit payment options. In the current health-conscious consumer market, purchasing decisions are influenced not only by commodity prices but also by the freshness of products, particularly perishable goods. Growing awareness of climate change and the advent of carbon emission policies have raised concerns about the environmental costs of business transactions. This study focuses on perishable products whose demand is influenced by both price and freshness. It explores the adoption of various payment methods by suppliers and retailers, as well as the impact of carbon emission cap-and-trade policies or carbon tax policies on management and pricing strategies. Suitable inventory models are established to determine the optimal replenishment and pricing strategies for maximizing the current value of total profit. We illustrate that the current value of total profit demonstrates joint concavity concerning both the selling price and the replenishment time. Finally, we verify the proposed models using numerical examples and present the findings of sensitivity analyses. The findings of this study yield several valuable insights for inventory management of perishable goods.

Managing Replenishment and Clearance of Perishables: Last-In, First-Out (LIFO) Issuing Policy and Age-Sensitive Demand

In supermarkets, customers choose the unit(s) they purchase, which leads to inventory being sold in a last-in, first-out (LIFO) order for perishable products. Furthermore, for such products, the demand for inventory may depend on its age since customers may choose to walk away if the freshest available inventory is too old for them. Despite the widespread occurrence of LIFO-based inventory systems, few studies have analyzed them. In this study, we contribute by developing insights on joint replenishment and clearance policy for a perishable product with a general, finite lifetime using a periodic review model such that the inventory is sold in a LIFO order and demand is age-dependent. The model seeks to optimize two decisions every period: how much of fresh inventory to order and how much of existing inventory to clear. A key objective of the model is to understand the effect of age-dependence of demand on the optimal replenishment and clearance policy. We find that the optimal clearance policy for all but the oldest inventory is a multiindex policy such that between any pair of adjacent indexes, either no inventory is cleared or all the inventory is cleared till the lower index. For the oldest inventory, we show that the optimal policy may have multiple forms depending on how sensitive demand is to inventory’s age. This is a notable result in inventory theory since parameters usually affect only the policy value(s) and not the policy structure. Since the optimal policy has a complex structure in general, which makes it difficult to compute, we develop an efficient heuristic to compute the replenishment and clearance quantities. The heuristic underperforms the optimal policy by [Formula: see text]0.92% on average.

A quality-based sustainable supply chain architecture for perishable products using image processing in the era of industry 4.0

In India, approximately one-third of agricultural produce is wasted every year due to the different issues present in the post-harvest supply chain stages. The supply chain management of perishable products becomes complex and challenging due to the inclusion of its perishability dynamics. Quality is the main factor that governs the buying or discarding of perishable products by consumers. Therefore, the main aim of this research work is to develop an accurate and efficient image processing model for the classification of the product (Tomato) based on its quality for managing the supply chain. There are three novelties in this research work. A four-stage supply chain architecture integrated with the image processing system at mandi, and warehouses is proposed (First). This image processing system is developed in two stages. In stage I, the acquired images of tomato during its life cycle are labelled with the help of machine learning algorithms (Second). This labelled data is used in stage II for the development of a classification model to segregate the product into various grades. For this, an optimized architecture of seven-layer Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model is developed followed by optimization of its hyperparameters simultaneously using Design of Experiments (DOE) technique (Third). The optimized CNN model achieved maximum accuracy of 88.40% and reported an execution time of 7 min. Further, the results of standard hyperparameter optimization techniques like Grid search, Random search, Bayesian, and Hyperband are compared with the proposed DOE technique on the optimized CNN architecture. The work done in this paper enables the supply chain managers to take accurate and rapid decisions for pricing, procurement, storage, and transportation at various stages of the supply chain leading to Industry 4.0. This will result in reduced post-harvest losses and simultaneously achieve the benefits across social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainability leading to better supply chain management.

Prediction of customer demand for perishable products in retail inventory management, using the hybrid prophet-XGBoost model during the post-COVID-19 period

ABSTRACT Retail inventory management (IM) presents challenges in decision-making, especially in determining optimal inventory levels for future customer demand alignment. This study focuses on predicting dairy product demand by a significant European retail company using historical order data. As dairy products are perishable and constitute a relevant portion of retail trade volume, accurate IM is crucial to prevent wastage and meet customer needs. However, external factors like COVID-19 may impact demand volatility and seasonal patterns. Given the absence of scientific studies on predicting post-COVID-19 demand, our research aims to fill this gap by proposing alternatives, such as excluding the pandemic period and developing a historical imputation. The study employs two predictive models, Prophet and XGBoost, known for their superior performance in predicting demand. Moreover, a hybrid approach combining both models is proposed to enhance prediction accuracy by leveraging the capacity of the Prophet model to handle seasonal and holiday-period effects and XGBoost’s regularization to prevent overfitting. The results demonstrate the feasibility of historical imputation and the hybrid model approach, improving significantly individual model performance. The principal application of the study is to propose an approach to predict the shipment of other products in a post-COVID-19 context.

Post-harvest Biotechnology or Genetic Engineering Solutions: Extending Shelf Life and Reducing Food Waste

Post-harvest losses and food waste have become critical challenges in the global food supply chain, contributing to economic losses, environmental degradation, and food insecurity. This article explores the innovative applications of post-harvest biotechnology and genetic engineering as promising solutions to address these issues by extending the shelf life of perishable products and minimizing food waste. Advancements in genetic engineering techniques have paved the way for the development of crops with enhanced resistance to pests, diseases, and environmental stresses. Additionally, the manipulation of genes associated with ripening and senescence has allowed scientists to engineer fruits and vegetables with extended shelf life. These genetically modified organisms (GMOs) exhibit improved post-harvest characteristics, providing a longer window for transportation, storage, and consumption. Biotechnological interventions also include the use of biocontrol agents and beneficial microorganisms to suppress post-harvest pathogens, thereby reducing spoilage and decay. The development of bio-preservatives, such as antimicrobial peptides and natural compounds, offers an eco-friendly alternative to traditional chemical preservatives, contributing to both food safety and sustainability. Furthermore, the integration of smart packaging technologies with genetic modifications enhances the monitoring and control of environmental conditions during storage and transportation. Intelligent packaging materials equipped with sensors can detect changes in temperature, humidity, and gas composition, enabling real-time adjustments to prolong the freshness of perishable goods.