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Horticulture: Plants for People and Places, Volume 1 pp 465–483Cite as

Postharvest Care and the Treatment of Fruits and Vegetables

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Abstract

This chapter describes existing postharvest care of fruits and vegetables in both the developing and developed economies of the world. Food waste is the metric which reveals the success or failure of the existing postharvest care. Figures vary depending on the source and the assumptions made to arrive at the estimated waste values but all agree that fruit and vegetable waste is at least 30 % of the production. Reasons for losses in the developing economies of the world relate to lack of basic postharvest technologies and access to adequate and reliable cooling. However, there are many societal issues that also impact on successful distribution of fruits and vegetables in developing economies. In developed economies, waste is associated at the distribution/retail/consumer levels and the underlying reasons for these losses are not so much the lack of or access to technology, rather to structure and function of the marketing chain. Capability to store product longer or transport it further does not necessarily lead to lower losses, however it does lead to greater distribution of availability over time or over distance. Consumer behavior and psychology play a significant role in waste at both the retail and home levels. While there continues to be numerous challenges for postharvest care of fruits and vegetables, the chapter provides some insight to the directions that must be followed to reduce wastage and enhance the availability of good quality, nutritious fruits and vegetable to all in developing and developed economies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, BC V0H 1Z0, Summerland, Canada

    Peter M. A. Toivonen

  2. Horticulture Innovation Lab, University of California, One Shields Avenue, 95616, Davis, CA, USA

    Elizabeth J. Mitcham

  3. Plant Science Laboratory, Vincent Building, Cranfield University, MK43 0AL, Bedfordshire, UK

    Leon A. Terry

Authors
  1. Peter M. A. Toivonen
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  2. Elizabeth J. Mitcham
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  3. Leon A. Terry
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter M. A. Toivonen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. GreenGene International Hill Rising, Sherborne, Dorset, United Kingdom

    Geoffrey R. Dixon

  2. School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Lawes, Queensland, Australia

    David E. Aldous

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Toivonen, P., Mitcham, E., Terry, L. (2014). Postharvest Care and the Treatment of Fruits and Vegetables. In: Dixon, G., Aldous, D. (eds) Horticulture: Plants for People and Places, Volume 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8578-5_13

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