Emerging postharvest technologies to enhance the shelf-life of horticultural crops: An overview

Abstract

The postharvest period often sees a decline in the quality and shelf life of fresh produce due to insufficient postharvest facilities. To preserve the nutritive value and safety of fresh produce, modern postharvest treatments, including active packaging, dipping, vacuum impregnation, conventional heating, pulsed electric field, high hydrostatic pressure, and cold plasma, as well as biocontrol methods, have been implemented in recent decades. Addressing product quality loss brought on the lengthy transportation of goods to far-off markets, the implementation of these approaches after harvesting is helpful. Emerging technologies such as image analysis, electronic noses, and near-infrared spectroscopy exemplify non-destructive, contactless methods for quality monitoring. These approaches offer numerous advantages over traditional, destructive procedures and play a crucial role in preserving quality, reducing losses, and minimizing waste in fresh produce. This review article consolidates distinctive studies on advancements in postharvest technology to address these concerns. The efficiency and benefits of a few non-destructive, contactless technologies for gauging the quality of fruits and vegetables will also be described, and they will be contrasted with more conventional approaches.