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出典(authority):フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』「2015/08/28 08:27:09」(JST)

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Drying and bagging of peanuts in Jiangxia District, Hubei, China

In agriculture, postharvest handling is the stage of crop production immediately following harvest, including cooling, cleaning, sorting and packing. The instant a crop is removed from the ground, or separated from its parent plant, it begins to deteriorate. Postharvest treatment largely determines final quality, whether a crop is sold for fresh consumption, or used as an ingredient in a processed food product.

Goals

Drying chili peppers. Milyanfan, Kyrgyzstan

The most important goals of post-harvest handling are keeping the product cool, to avoid moisture loss and slow down undesirable chemical changes, and avoiding physical damage such as bruising, to delay spoilage.^[1] Sanitation is also an important factor, to reduce the possibility of pathogens that could be carried by fresh produce, for example, as residue from contaminated washing water.

After the field, post-harvest processing is usually continued in a packing house. This can be a simple shed, providing shade and running water, or a large-scale, sophisticated, mechanized facility, with conveyor belts, automated sorting and packing stations, walk-in coolers and the like. In mechanized harvesting, processing may also begin as part of the actual harvest process, with initial cleaning and sorting performed by the harvesting machinery.

Initial post-harvest storage conditions are critical to maintaining quality. Each crop has an optimum range for storage temperature and humidity. Also, certain crops cannot be effectively stored together, as unwanted chemical interactions can result. Various methods of high-speed cooling, and sophisticated refrigerated and atmosphere-controlled environments, are employed to prolong freshness, particularly in large-scale operations.

Regardless of the scale of harvest, from domestic garden to industrialized farm, the basic principles of post-harvest handling for most crops are the same: handle with care to avoid damage (cutting, crushing, bruising), cool immediately and maintain in cool conditions, and cull (remove damaged items).

Postharvest Shelf Life

Once harvested, vegetable and fruit are subject to the active process of senescence. Numerous biochemical processes continuously change the original composition of the crop until it becomes unmarketable. The period during which consumption is considered acceptable is defined as the time of "postharvest shelf life".

Postharvest shelf life is typically determined by objective methods that determine the overall appearance, taste, flavor, and texture of the commodity. These methods usually include a combination of sensorial, biochemical, mechanical, and colorimetric (optical) measurements. A recent study attempted (and failed) to discover a biochemical marker and fingerprint methods as indices for freshness .^[2]

Postharvest Physiology

Postharvest physiology is the scientific study of the physiology of living plant tissues after they have denied further nutrition by picking. It has direct applications to postharvest handling in establishing the storage and transport conditions that best prolong shelf life.

An example of the importance of the field to post-harvest handling is the discovery that ripening of fruit can be delayed, and thus their storage prolonged, by preventing fruit tissue respiration. This insight allowed scientists to bring to bear their knowledge of the fundamental principles and mechanisms of respiration, leading to post-harvest storage techniques such as cold storage, gaseous storage, and waxy skin coatings. Another well known example is the finding that ripening may be brought on by treatment with ethylene.

References

^ [1]^{[dead link]}
^ actahort.org

External links

Postharvest Handling^{[dead link]}
POSTHARVEST BIOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Writtle Postharvest Unit; Research & Training
Postharvest Technology Research & Information Center
Dixie, G.; Horticultural Marketing. FAO, Rome, 2005^{[dead link]}
Lopez-Camelo, Andres. Manual for the preparation and sale of fruits and vegetables – from farm to market. FAO, Rome 2004
FAO Information Network on Post-harvest Operations INPho

English Journal

Undesirable Enzymatic Browning in Crustaceans: Causative Effects and Its Inhibition by Phenolic Compounds.

Nirmal NP1, Benjakul S, Ahmad M, Arfat YA, Panichayupakaranant P.
Critical reviews in food science and nutrition.Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr.2015 Dec 6;55(14):1992-2003. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2012.755148.
Undesirable enzymatic browning mediated by polyphenol oxidase (E.C. 1.14.18.1) on the surface of seafood from crustaceans have been a great concern to food processors, causing quality losses of seafood products. Seafoods especially from crustaceans are worldwide consumed due to their delicacy and nu
PMID 25584522

Ozone fumigation for safety and quality of wine grapes in postharvest dehydration.

Botondi R1, De Sanctis F1, Moscatelli N1, Vettraino AM1, Catelli C2, Mencarelli F3.
Food chemistry.Food Chem.2015 Dec 1;188:641-7. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.05.029. Epub 2015 May 7.
This paper proposes postharvest ozone fumigation (as a method) to control microorganisms and evaluate the effect on polyphenols, anthocyanins, carotenoids and cell wall enzymes during the grape dehydration for wine production. Pignola grapes were ozone-treated (1.5g/h) for 18h (A=shock treatment), t
PMID 26041242

Identification of innovative potential quality markers in rocket and melon fresh-cut produce.

Cavaiuolo M1, Cocetta G2, Bulgari R2, Spinardi A2, Ferrante A3.
Food chemistry.Food Chem.2015 Dec 1;188:225-33. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.04.143. Epub 2015 May 1.
Ready-to-eat fresh cut produce are exposed to pre- and postharvest abiotic stresses during the production chain. Our work aimed to identify stress responsive genes as new molecular markers of quality that can be widely applied to leaves and fruits and easily determined at any stage of the production
PMID 26041186

Japanese Journal

Development of Post–harvest Bulk Handling System of Onions (Ⅰ) : Characteristics of Friction and Airflow Resistance

Park Jong Min,Kim Ghi Seok,Kwon Soon Hong,Chung Sung Won,Kwon Soon Goo,Choi Won Sik,Kim Jong Soon,Mitsuoka Muneshi,Inoue Eiji,Okayasu Takashi,光岡宗司,井上英二,岡安崇史
Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University 58(1), 87-92, 2013-02-00
… However, the postharvest processing for onions has been accomplished mainly with net package, causing high cost and low efficiency. …
NAID 120005227252