Post on 01-Jan-2016
description
State of Israel Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
DevelopmentPlant Protection & Inspection Services (PPIS)
Preparation of fruit and vegetables for the fresh Preparation of fruit and vegetables for the fresh market market
Preparation of fruit and vegetables for the market
In-field packing
Packing in a packing house
Field packing
Harvest and packaging into the final package are made in the field
Advantages of field packing
Eliminates product handling
Less time between picking and cooling
Eliminates the expense of having a packing house
Disadvantages of field packing
Mechanical grading and sorting can not be done
Quality control is more difficult
Post harvest treatments can not be applied
Workers are working in less comfortable environment
Harvesting for central packing house
Field bins upon arrival to packing house
Packed fruit ready for shipment
It is critical to protect the fruit and avoid dropping it into buckets or bins
fruit picked into buckets usually transferred to field bins
Wooden field bins must be protected with plastic liners to avoid rubbing and abrasion injury
Field bins need periodic washing to remove soil and dirt
Field containers
Picking of table grapes
Picking of apples
Picking of apples
Hydraulic ladder for picking apples
Field containers at the packinghouse
Plastic field bins for citrus
Mechanical damage can occur during transport
Impact bruises occur when fruit bounces during transport
Overfilled boxes cause compression bruises
It is necessary to have suspension system on all vehicles
Improve farm roads for eliminating holes and bumps
On the way to the packing house
Transport of table grapes to the packinghouse Transport of sweet peppers
from the packinghouse
Transportation
Field containers
Plastic field bins
It is imperative to shorten the time from picking to cooling and handling of the produce as much as possible
Speed is important
Produce can warm up high above air temperature
Harvest early in the day
Shade product after harvest
Reduce time between harvest and transport
Avoid delays, ensure frequent trips to packing house
Temperature protection
Keep away from direct sun
Effect of sun exposure and position in box on field warming of cherries
38
32
27
21
16
C0
Box in sun Box in shade
Preparation of fruit in the packing house
Careful bin dumping
Dry bin dumping
Water dumping to reduce mechanical damage
Control of the product flow
Control decay in water dumps by sanitation (chlorination)
Bin dumping
Dry bin dumping of oranges
Water dumping of apples
Pre sizing
Pre-sizing of oranges
Pre-sizing for removing under sized fruit
To increase equipment capacity, product below minimum size need to be removed
Pre-sizers usually located after the dump
Fruit below minimum size directed to processing outlets
Pre sorting
Hand sorting to remove unpackable product (decay)
Cleaning and washing
Detergent wash (sometimes with soft brushes)
Clear water rinsing
Tubers and roots vegetables need cleaning to remove soil
Cleaning and washing
Detergent washing of oranges
Disease control
Disease control
Fungicide application must be in conformity with the law and regulations
Fungicide application in water tank
Fungicides incorporated into fruit waxes
Disease control by heat treatment (i.e. hot water treatment for oranges)
Waxing and drying
Wax coating is applied in order to reduce water losses and provide gloss (shiny finish)
Use only approved “food grade” waxes
The most common waxes are mineral oil-based waxes and natural waxes
The wax coating on the fruit must be dried up immediately after application
Waxing
Waxing of oranges
Drying
Drying oranges after waxing
Oranges after drying
The speed of sorting belt should be adjusted according to product quality
The number of sorters depend on:
- The product flow per hour
- The amount of diverted product (sub-standard fruit)
- The size of the product
Hand sorting: segregation of sub standard fruit
Training of workers - workers must be familiar with fruit defects and the segregation limits to avoid losses due to “under sorting” or “over sorting”
It is essential to ensure good working conditions to reduce worker’s fatigue
Avoid sorting errors
Segregation limit
Hand sorting
Segregation of sub-standard oranges
For each defect define the limit allowed for the specific class
Shamouti oranges - the limit allowed for each class
Mechanical sizers set apart the product by weight or dimension
Electronic sizers capture video image of each peace and calculate the volume
Video imaging can also detect color intensity and defects
Sizers must segregate product with required accuracy to meet size uniformity, marketing and legal requirements
Machine sizing and labeling
Sizing by weight
Sizing
Electronic sizer
Labeling
Labeling the fruit
Packing the product
Hand-packing operation
Used when operators can not afford the expense of packing machinery
Essential for products requiring extra care and handling (strawberries, peaches)
Further sorting while packing is possible
Sizing must be precise (oversized fruit will cause compression damage, undersized fruit will cause vibration damage)
Packing the product
Packing line of oranges
Packing the product
Delivery of empty boxes
Packing the product
Hand packing
Hand packed oranges
Mechanical packing and palletizing
Mechanical packing system deliver sorted and sized fruit to automatic fillers
Mechanical packing can handle large volume of product at high speed
Further sorting is not possible
Automatic palletizing reduce handling damage
Automatic palletizer
Automatic palletizing reduce handling damage
Mechanical packing and palletizing
Mechanical packing system deliver sorted and sized fruit to automatic fillers
They can handle large volume of product at high speed
Further sorting is not possible
Cooling and storage
The product must be kept in cold storage until delivery to the market
Cooling and storage
Cooling and storage is used for extending the marketing period
After packing product must be cooled
In some cases ethylene is applied to stimulate ripening or improving the color of the products
Delivery to market outlets must be done in cooling transportation
Transportation to the market
Refrigerated transportation to the market
A satisfied consumer
Thank you for your attention