ABSTRACT
Fruit and vegetables are consumed in fresh and processed forms (canned, frozen, dried, preserves, fermented products) and are valued for their health-promoting potential. Kader [1] defined quality as “a combination of characteristics, attributes, or properties that give the commodity value as a human food.” However, the definition varies along the supply chain which consists of producers, handing and distribution agencies, processors, and finally a consumer. Quality attributes normally used for raw materials are: physical (size, firmness, presence or absence of seeds, etc.), compositional (natural sugars, volatiles), nutritional (vitamins, antioxidants, functional components), and sensory (color, texture, taste, flavor, and odor). Specific quality requirements of raw material vary with the nature of the product and processing applied to it. Reasonable storage life of fruits and vegetables before processing is an additional criterion used by processors to assess their suitability as a raw material and to increase the processing season. Minimization of deterioration of quality of plant produce intended for processing is the main aim of suppliers of fruits and vegetables that are stored and handled. Postharvest quality is an important determinant of the quality of fresh and processed fruit and vegetable [2]. As depicted in Figure 4.1, the quality of fruit and vegetables depends on several factors that can be classified as preharvest, harvesting, and postharvest. The physiological status of these live and morphologically diverse products, in addition to diseases and pests, and mechanical injuries, and injury during postharvest handling, impacts directly on quality. Knowledge of postharvest physiology is therefore fundamental to understanding the process of deterioration in order to prevent postharvest losses in terms of both quality and quantity for both fresh and processed product markets. Schematic representation of factors affecting postharvest quality of fruits and vegetables. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-u.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780429091483/664b9b5a-638a-4ec7-b69b-5d34889988bd/content/fig4_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
