•Shipping, store display and consumer are critical steps, impacting quality and waste.•Boosted regression tree model predicted weight loss at the end of storage.•Vapour Pressure Deficit, time, and ...point in the supply chain influence weight loss.
Blueberries have increased in popularity in recent years due to their nutritional benefits and sensory characteristics. However, to preserve quality and extend shelf-life, they need to be maintained at refrigerated temperatures and high relative humidity, conditions that are not routinely met along the supply chain. Poor temperature management leads to quality deterioration, increasing waste/losses along the supply chain. This study examined the impact of each step along the supply chain on the physichochemical quality and shelf-life of blueberries, identifying the most critical steps from field to consumption. The following steps were identified as critical in the blueberry supply chain: shipping to distribution centre (DC) (72 h at 5 °C), store display (48 h at 15 °C), and consumer (48 h at 20 °C). Given the economic importance of weight loss and its link to fruit quality and shelf-life, a boosted regression tree (BRT) model was built to predict weight loss using the post-harvest environmental conditions of a simulated supply chain applying different temperature-time scenarios. The model explained 84 % of the variance on the test set and highlighted the interactions of supply chain conditions on weight loss.
Shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables is greatly influenced by environmental conditions. Increasing temperature usually results in accelerated loss of quality and shelf-life reduction, which is ...not physically visible until too late in the supply chain to adjust logistics to match shelf life. A blackberry study showed that temperatures inside pallets varied significantly and 57% of the berries arriving at the packinghouse did not have enough remaining shelf life for the longest supply routes. Yet, the advanced shelf-life loss was not physically visible. Some of those pallets would be sent on longer supply routes than necessary, creating avoidable waste. Other studies showed that variable pre-cooling at the centre of pallets resulted in physically invisible uneven shelf life. We have shown that using simple temperature measurements much waste can be avoided using 'first expiring first out'. Results from our studies showed that shelf-life prediction should not be based on a single quality factor as, depending on the temperature history, the quality attribute that limits shelf life may vary. Finally, methods to use air temperature to predict product temperature for highest shelf-life prediction accuracy in the absence of individual sensors for each monitored product have been developed. Our results show a significant reduction of up to 98% in the root-mean-square-error difference between the product temperature and air temperature when advanced estimation methods are used.
Due to high perishability and poor distribution management, strawberry is one of the most frequently discarded fruits. The aim of this study was to develop a non-destructive system for accurate ...estimation of shelf-life of strawberries using hyperspectral imaging technology. Harvested strawberries were stored for 9 day at five different temperatures. Shelf-life was calculated based on subjective visual evaluation of appearance attributes (colour, shrivelling, and decay) using a rating scale. Hyperspectral images of strawberries were obtained during cold storage, using a novel handheld push broom line-scanning hyperspectral camera. The model developed by partial least square regression (PLSR) with selected spectra was used to predict appearance scores of strawberries with a coefficient of determination of prediction (R2p) of 0.97 and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEp) of 0.17. The appearance scores from the PLSR model were used to develop a model based on first-order kinetics and Arrhenius equations to predict the remaining shelf-life of the strawberries. The models predicted remaining shelf-life with R2p of 0.86 and RMSEp of 1.4 days. Prediction models were also developed for other quality attributes and biochemical properties (weight loss, ascorbic acid, and soluble solids). The results from this study support the development a non-destructive system for the accurate estimation of shelf-life of strawberries. A system that could potentially offer objective quality assessment as product moves through the supply chain, aiding decision making and facilitating proactive actions to be taken with the aim of minimising loss/waste; benefiting food supply chain stakeholders across the globe and supporting the drive for zero waste.
•Establishing a non-destructive system for shelf-life estimation of strawberries.•Remaining shelf-life of strawberries determined along the supply chain.•Novel system supports for reducing waste along strawberry supply chain.
•Applying kinetics modelling to map strawberry quality degradation during storage.•Weibull model validated biochemical degradation acceleration at low RH conditions.•Weight loss was the determining ...factor in degradation rate of chemical attributes.•Logistic regression accurately predicted waste from objectionable strawberry quality.
Many studies stress the importance of keeping strawberries at high relative humidity conditions during postharvest storage. However, the effect of deviations occurring across the supply chain on the appearance, acceptability and biochemical properties of strawberries has not been adequately explored or quantified to date using kinetic modelling applications. This study investigated the effect of relative humidity (RH) on degradation kinetics of quality and biochemical properties of ‘Strawberry Festival’, during 7 days of storage at 2 °C, using zero, first-order and Weibull models. The strawberries were stored at 40, 60, 70, 80 or 90% RH and were evaluated using subjective quality evaluation, weight loss monitoring and biochemical analysis. The shelf life was established based on current industry practices using subjective quality evaluation, namely shrivelling and colour scores. The Weibull model was found to better fit the experimental chemical analysis data compared to zero and first order kinetics models. The analysis of the rate constants quantified the significant effect of RH conditions on the weight loss and degradation rate of chemical components. Storage at low RH conditions accelerated the loss of ascorbic acid, and anthocyanins and negatively affect the in vitro antioxidant activity. The overall appearance of strawberries was modelled with zero-order kinetic model and the results revealed that lower RH conditions can limit the remaining shelf life of fresh strawberries by increasing the rate of appearance deterioration. Using RH and time as predictors in a logistic regression model, the waste occurring due to unacceptable strawberry quality, was predicted; highlighting the importance of using RH in predictive modelling when designing supply chains with the view to minimise losses.
•Subjective quality attributes are significantly correlated with physicochemical attributes.•Rating scales are reliable in estimating physicochemical attributes of fruits and vegetables.•Strawberry ...color chart can be used to evaluate sensory quality and as a quality control tool.
Color charts and rating scales have been developed for several fresh fruits and vegetables (FFVs) but limited information is available regarding the correlation between subjective evaluations and physicochemical attributes. The objective of this work was to correlate subjective quality data with quantitative analytical data collected for several fruits exposed to different environmental conditions. Avocados, blueberries, peppers, strawberries and tomatoes were exposed to a range of different temperatures and humidity conditions for varied periods of time, and quality evaluated using both rating scales and physicochemical analysis. The strength of the relationship between variables was measured using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) and the coefficient of determination (r2) and, the significance of the relationship was expressed by probability levels (p=0.05). Overall, there was a significant correlation between most of the subjective quality attributes evaluated and the physicochemical analysis performed. Subjective color was significantly correlated with hue angle for all fruits evaluated except for blueberries for which subjective color had a stronger correlation with L* values. Correlations between subjective color and anthocyanins, ascorbic acid or chlorophyll contents were also significant. Shriveling or stem freshness was strongly correlated with weight loss whereas subjective firmness was significantly correlated with instrumental texture. Results from this work showed that subjective quality evaluations using rating scales can be a reliable and simple method to estimate changes in color, softening, water loss, and ultimately changes in specific chemical components when FFVs are exposed to different environmental conditions. A color chart is proposed for the visual evaluation of strawberry quality.
•Sensory and physicochemical attributes of a new strawberry cultivar are presented.•Sensation® ‘Florida127’ has higher sugar content than standard strawberry cultivars.•Because of its lighter red ...color Sensation® ‘Florida127’seldom looks overripe.•‘Florida127’ longer shelf life is an advantage when shipping to distant markets.
Strawberry breeding programs are constantly engaged in the development of new cultivars with increased performance and improved quality traits. The recent release of Sensation® ‘Florida127’ aims to accomplish these goals, yet its postharvest performance has not been rigorously studied. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to compare the sensory and physicochemical attributes and shelf life of Sensation® ‘Florida127’ with that of commercial standards ‘Florida Radiance’ and ‘Strawberry Festival’. Overall, Sensation® ‘Florida127’ showed superior or equal postharvest performance when compared to the standard cultivars depending on the trait, having the least decrease in appearance quality, firmness, and flavor. Sensation® ‘Florida127’ consistently had a lighter red color, higher soluble solids and sugar contents, and lower acidity, ascorbic acid, polyphenols and anthocyanin contents. Sensation® ‘Florida127’ shelf life was 1–3days longer than that of ‘Florida Radiance’ and ‘Strawberry Festival’, respectively. Sensation® ‘Florida127’ has lower levels of bioactive compounds but higher sugars content and lower acidity compared to the standard cultivars which result in a more flavorful fruit. The fruit also maintains an attractive light red coloration throughout storage, seldom looking overripe. The longer shelf life of Sensation® ‘Florida127’ compared to the standard cultivars should be an advantage when the fruit are shipped to distant markets.
The association between FokI polymorphism in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene and susceptibility to arterial hypertension (HT) is controversial. Thus, we evaluated the relation between FokI and HT ...according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines using MEDLINE® (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online)/PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library CENTRAL databases. Data from case-control studies, including the number of participants, age, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, systolic and diastolic blood pressure values, FokI allele, and genotype frequency were extracted by 2 independent authors and OR was calculated with the 95% CI to assess the strength of the association between the FokI variant and odds of HT. In general and subgroup analyses, we used allelic (f compared with F), common (ff compared with FF + Ff), risk (ff + Ff compared with FF), and additive (ff compared with FF) models. Six case-control studies including 3140 cases and 3882 controls were reviewed in the meta-analysis. Global assessment revealed a correlation between FokI and reduced odds of HT in the additive/homozygote model (ff compared with FF; OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.45–0.94) and common/recessive model (ff compared with FF + Ff; OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.57–0.99). In Asian subjects, there was a significant reduction in the odds of HT in additive (ff compared with FF; OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73–0.98) and risk models (ff + Ff compared with FF; OR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.78–0.97), in particular, for Indians (South). In Africans, the statistically significant association occurred in the additive and common models. Allele f in the FokI polymorphism of the VDR gene was associated with reduced odds of HT in the general population based on the risk model. Thus, nutritional genomics can help understand the influence of nutrition on metabolic homeostasis pathways and the clinical consequences of hypertension. This study shows the need for healthy, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant compounds to prevent or treat chronic complications.
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