Sustainable Postharvest Technologies for Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables, commonly termed as ＂fresh produce＂ are an important component of the human diet, as these provide various beneficial and essential health-related compounds. Nevertheless, fresh produce is susceptible to postharvest deterioration and decay along with loss of certain nutrients due to innapropriate storage conditions and lack of standard postharvest technologies. In addition, the short shelf life is considered another major constraint that must be extended after harvest to ensure a wider availability window of the fresh produce for consumers. From this perspective, the use of postharvest approaches is considered imperative to reduce the deterioration of harvested fresh produce in order to extend their storage and shelf life potential on a sustainable basis. Sustainable Postharvest Technologies for Fruits and Vegetables covers various aspects of postharvest technologies with major developments over the recent past and provides a way forward for the future.

The sustainable use of various technologies and elicitors could be adapted from farm to fork in order to conserve the eating quality of fresh produce. Therefore, this book covers various sustainable postharvest treatments and technologies that could be considered highly effective for the delay of postharvest senescence and deterioration. Among the various technologies, the use of preharvest treatments, controlled atmosphere, dynamic control atmosphere, modified atmosphere and hypobaric conditions has tremendous potential for the fresh fruits and vegetables industry. In the same way, cold plasma, pulsed light, ultraviolet light, ultrasound technology, nanoemulsions, nano-packaging, electrolyzed water, high pressure processing, ozone gas, irradiations, edible coatings, vacuum packaging and active packaging with slow releasing compounds along with nanotechnology are highly practicable and possesses tremendous potential to be used in the maintenance of overall eating quality and storage life extension of the fresh produce.

Key Features:

• Overviews the major factors affecting postharvest physiology and shelf life potential of fresh produce.
• Focuses on major sustainable technologies having the potential to maintain postharvest quality and extend shelf life of fruits and vegetables.
• Describes practical and recent advances of various approaches indispensable for the maintenance of overall eating quality and food safety attainment for fresh produce on a sustainable basis.
• Covers how quality maintenance and shelf life rely on preharvest practices, nonthermal treatments, storage atmospheres, packaging materials, active packaging, edible packaging, coating application techniques, nanotechnology and ecofriendly plant extracts and natural antagonists.

Dr. Sajid Ali, (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. Dr. Ali acquired BSc (Honors) Agriculture with Major Horticulture from Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. He received his MSc (Honors) Horticulture and PhD Horticulture (Postharvest Physiology) from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. He received advanced training in postharvest physiology of horticultural crops from US Horticultural Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Fort Pierce, Florida, USA. Dr. Ali has authored and co-authored around 120 international papers and around 25 book chapters. He has edited a book entitled ’Postharvest Physiological Disorders of Fruits’. He is Editor of BMC Plant Biology, Associate Editor of Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems and Academic Editor of Plos One. Dr. Ali is an active reviewer for the various international scientific journals. He has worked as a Research Officer and as a Project Development Officer in two Research Projects at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. He has won several research projects and awards. He teaches different graduate and postgraduate courses of horticulture.

Shabir Ahmad Mir, (PhD) is an Assistant Professor at the Government College for Women, M.A. Road, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. He obtained his M.Sc. (Food Technology) degree from Islamic University of Science and Technology, Awantipora, India, and PhD (Food Technology) from Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India. He received the best PhD Thesis Award for outstanding research in the field of food technology. He has organized several conferences and workshops in Food Science and Technology. Dr. Mir has published numerous international papers, book chapters and edited eleven books.

Dr. Basharat Nabi Dar, (PhD) is a distinguished expert in Food Technology, recognized for his extensive contributions to the field. As an academic and researcher, he has significantly advanced the understanding of food science, focusing on byproduct utilization and nutritional enhancement. His academic journey is marked by prestigious positions and collaborations with esteemed institutions. Dr. Dar’s prolific output includes numerous publications, patents, and projects, reflecting his deep commitment to research and innovation. He has been a technical expert Member of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) since July 2021. He has presented his research to a wide variety of audiences cutting across government and private organizations to much appreciation. He has published more than 150 research and review papers in some of the top journals in the discipline and has editorship of 10 books. Dr. Dar’s work not only contributes to academic knowledge but also has practical implications, bridging the gap between research and industry applications.

Dr. Shaghef Ejaz, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and researcher at the Department of Horticulture, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan. Dr. Ejaz acquired his B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture with Major Horticulture and M.Sc. (Hons.) Horticulture from Department of Horticulture, Bahauddin Zakariya University. He was awarded a Ph.D. scholarship from Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan. He acquired his Ph.D. from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria with a specialization in postharvest quality assessment of fresh horticultural commodities. Dr. Ejaz has research experience of more than 15 years and teaching experience of 10 years. He has published more than 60 research and review articles with a cumulative Web of Science impact factor (IF) of almost 200. He has also contributed 25 book chapters in books published by various international publishers. Dr. Ejaz has also presented his research work and delivered lectures in more than 15 national and international seminars and conferences. Dr. Ejaz, as Associate Editor and Review Editor, is also on the editorial board of many well-reputed Journals. Recently, Dr. Ejaz’s research work has been mainly focused on the minimal postharvest processing of fresh fruits and vegetables. Besides being an active researcher, he has been a dynamic teacher and supervisor, which is recognizable from the research publications of his students during his supervision.