Control of Postharvest Decay of Fresh Produce by Heat Treatments; the Risks and the Benefits

Fresh fruits and vegetables always have formed part of the human diet, but even from the early history of crop cultivation, producers and distributors were concerned about postharvest losses. Furthermore, worldwide international trade in fruits and vegetables is severely constrained by postharvest decay losses and quarantine and phytosanitary barriers, which were erected to prevent spread of fungal and bacterial diseases in harvested fresh and fresh-cut produce. Fungicides and other pesticides are used to prevent pest and fungus proliferation on produce, but these chemical treatments are under increasing scrutiny because of their potential harm to human health and the natural environment. Therefore, alternative methods of controlling postharvest decay are being developed and applied. Prestorage physical treatments, including hot water dipping, brief hot water rinsing and brushing, heat treatments with hot air or steam, and radio frequency irradiation, reduce subsequent decay losses, provide quarantine security, and preserve produce quality during cold storage and shelf life. The aim of this chapter is to summarize the information accumulated recently regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using physical treatments, applied alone or in combination with other means, to control postharvest decay in fruits and vegetables, and to shed more light on the potential of these treatments to harm products.For many years postharvest heat treatments (HTs) have been known to be effective in managing postharvest diseases and physiological disorders. Beneficial effects of HTs, used alone or in combination with other treatments, were reported for tropical and exotic fruits by Sivakumar and Fallik. The efficacy of hot water treatment (HWT), as an alternative to fungicide treatment to control crown rot and maintain postharvest quality in banana cv. The efficacy of HWT, as an alternative to chemical treatment, in controlling crown rot and maintaining postharvest quality in banana cv. A combined biochemical and proteomic approach was successfully employed by Wu et al. in an investigation of the responses of grape berries to postharvest HWT during subsequent cold storage. Numerous reports are available describing physical treatments that control postharvest decay in agricultural products without harming their quality. However, not all freshly harvested produce, especially heat-sensitive fruits and vegetables, can tolerate the physical conditions required to control decay-causing agents.Contents of the chapter- Introduction- Types of heat treatment- Benefits of heat treatments- Disadvantages of heat treatments- Posible models of action of head disorders- Conclusion. SourcesFallik, Elazar & Ilic, Zoran. (2019). Control of Postharvest Decay of Fresh Produce by Heat Treatments; the Risks and the Benefits. 10.1201/9781315209180-16.In?Postharvest Pathology of Fresh Horticultural Produce, Ed.?Llu?s Palou, Joseph L. Smilanick Picture,?Xeda, Hidrocooling & hidroheating machine