NE1008: Assuring Fruit and Vegetable Product Quality and Safety Through the Handling and Marketing Chain
Statement of Issues and Justification
The goal of this project is to develop and improve rapid and non-destructive methods and technology for assessing, retaining, and assuring quality, safety, and integrity of fruits and vegetables through the marketing chain.Annually, fruits and vegetables generate 25 billion dollars in farm income (Anon, 2001). They account for approximately 25% of the cash receipts of all crops grown in the United States while occupying only about 2.6% of the acreage devoted to cropland (Nichols, 1996). Furthermore, fruits and vegetables are an essential part of a healthy diet. The health benefits of compounds such as antioxidants and flavenoids, found in abundance in fresh fruits and vegetables, are becoming increasingly apparent.
As fruits and vegetables make their way from the producer to the consumer, they are sorted, stored, transported, processed, and packaged. With each step, their economic value increases. Annual sales of fresh produce alone exceed $95 billion (www.Fresh-Cuts.org). It is essential that the quality of this valuable resource be maintained. This, in brief, is the major focus of this proposal.
Although the system that delivers fruits and vegetables to the consumer works well, it is still vulnerable to the influences of population pressures, global competition, outbreaks of food-borne illness, and labor shortages. Furthermore, there are still opportunities for improving the efficiency of the system. While estimates of losses vary, it is not uncommon for the produce departments in grocery stores to experience losses of 10% because their produce spoils, contains undetected defects, or deteriorates in quality before it can be sold. Even if only 5% of the fresh produce were lost, the annual economic value of those losses would be nearly $5 billion.
Control of pathogens, resulting in food-borne illness and now the threat of bio-terrorism, is a critical issue that needs to be addressed. The fresh-cut industry, producing products that are not subject to conventional pasteurization methods, has been expanding rapidly. This industry accounts for 10-12 billion dollars in sales on an annual basis, about 10% of the total fresh produce market. New techniques are needed that rapidly identify the presence of pathogens on produce, as well as techniques to eliminate these pathogens.
NE-179 multi-state researchers have helped to improve existing technologies, such as color sorting. They are also developing new quality detection technologies such as: machine vision for the detection of bruises, surface defects and insect presence; x-ray scanning and magnetic resonance sensing for the detection of internal defects; and near infrared detection of soluble solids content (related to sweetness and quality). Accomplishments have included development of a color chart for improved color sorting of cherries, improvement of specifications for lighting of grading stations, and development of a device for orientation of apples grown in the eastern United States. (Note: Apples grown in the eastern United States cannot be oriented effectively using equipment routinely used for apples grown on the west coast.) Sharing of data, such as physical properties of fruits and vegetables, is also being promoted through the development of an Internet web site where links to data and reports issued by participating stations can be easily accessed.
Several NE-179 projects have involved cooperation among stations. For example, Cornell (New York) and the Appalachian Fruit Research Station (West Virginia) worked together in the development of the orientation device for eastern apples. They presently have a cooperative project on bruise detection by means of a combination of visible and near infrared radiation (multi-spectral imaging). The Fruit Research Station also evaluated detection of internal defects in apples by sponsoring and providing apples for an x-ray detection study at the University of Georgia and a magnetic resonance study at Purdue University (Indiana).
The project has sponsored two international conferences that brought together researchers working in the area of quality sorting. The first was conducted in Spokane, Washington in 1993 and the second in Orlando, Florida in 1996. Papers and discussion summaries from both of these meetings were published in proceedings. Interaction with processors, packers and growers was facilitated by means of tours held in conjunction with these meetings.
NE-179 also promotes the interaction of researchers with growers, processors and packers. Much of this interaction occurs during tours held in conjunction with each annual meeting. Researchers are able to visit facilities and dialogue with managers and others who are aware of the current concerns of the industry. Industry consultants, representatives of commodity groups and equipment manufacturers, and scientists from state and federal laboratories have attended NE-179 conferences and annual meetings. Their participation allows them to share their ideas and perspectives. Another example of NE-179s interaction with industry is the 1995 survey of apple packers and processors in which members conducted for the purpose of evaluating their satisfaction with current sorting systems and their needs for the future. The responses of 25 fresh pack firms and 7 processors were summarized and made available to NE-179 representatives so that they could gain a better understanding of the needs and concerns of the apple packers and processors.
NE-179 is a vital link between the fruit and vegetable industry and researchers who are developing machines and systems for assessing and retaining the quality of these commodities. NE-179 is accomplishing this by means of tours of processing and packing facilities, discussions with processors and packers held during the tours, industry surveys, sponsorship of international conferences, and the publication of the proceedings of these conferences. NE-179 fosters cooperation among participating stations as demonstrated by several joint research projects and the sharing of test samples among stations. They continue to address concerns of the industry by evaluating techniques and systems that can be used to improve product quality, reduce waste, and maintain or expand the United States share in a global market.
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