Effect of mechanical damage on the quality characteristics of banana fruits during short-term storage

Fresh fruits like bananas are very susceptible to mechanical damage during postharvest handling which can result in a substantial decline in quality. The study aims to evaluate the effect of bruise damage and storage temperatures on the quality of banana fruits after 48 h storage. Each ‘Grand Naine’ banana fruit was impacted once by using a drop impact test using three different heights (10, 30, and 50 cm) and storage temperatures (13 and 22 °C) after 48 h of storage. Different quality analyses were measured like bruise measurements (impact energy, bruise area, bruise volume, and bruise susceptibility), weight loss, total soluble solids (TSS), color (L*, a*, b*, hue°, chroma, yellowness index, yellowness value) headspace gases (respiration and ethylene production rate). The results showed that bruise measurements (bruise area, bruise volume, and bruise susceptibility) were highly affected by drop height. The quality parameters like weight, color, total soluble solids and headspace gases were affected by drop height and storage condition. Weight loss, total soluble solids, respiration rate, and ethylene production rate increased as drop height and storage temperature rise. Storage at ambient conditions (22 °C) accelerated bruising occurrence in banana fruits. Fewer changes were observed after 48 h of storage. The least value of yellowness index was observed on the non-bruised banana fruits (84.03) under 13 °C storage conditions. The findings of the study can provide baseline data to understand the mechanical damage mechanism on fruit quality, hoping to create awareness and educate farming communities and consumers. Storage temperature management is another approach that needs to be followed to reduce the occurrence of mechanical damage in fresh produce.

Susceptibility of Impact Damage to Whole Apples Packaged Inside Molded Fiber and Expanded Polystyrene Trays

Postharvest damage, leading to loss and waste, continues to be a significant problem in the fresh produce industry. Trays, designed to reduce fruit-to-fruit contact, are utilized by the apple industry to minimize bruising of whole apples. During distribution, packaged apples are subjected to various supply chain hazards, which may lead to bruising damage. Currently, molded fiber (MF) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) trays transport whole apples from the packhouse to the retail outlet. Mechanical shock, by free-fall drop method, was used to evaluate the performance differences between the two trays and quantify the bruising characteristics of the apples. Results showed that the EPS trays provided better shock protection to the apple as compared to the MF tray, reducing the impact acceleration by more than 70%. Additionally, the bruise susceptibility was 40% less for the apples packaged inside the EPS trays, regardless of drop height. However, apples packaged in the middle layer trays were most susceptible to bruising damage, regardless of tray type.

Bruise Damage Susceptibility and Fruit Quality Assessment of Pear

Introduction: Bruising is a type of mechanical damage that challenges fresh horticulture production efforts, which occurs mainly due to excessive compression and impact forces during postharvest operations resulting in quality deterioration of fresh produce and reduction in economic value. Objective: This study aims to assess the bruise susceptibility of imported pears and determine its effect on pear quality attributes. Materials and Methods: Each Pyrus communis, variety ‘D'Anjou’ imported pears was impacted by a known mass steel ball at three different drop heights (20, 40, and 60 cm). Bruised fruit was stored at 22°C with 45±5% RH and 10°C with 85±5% RH for 48 hours storage period. Pears were also subjected to different quality analyses like color, firmness, weight loss, and total soluble solids (TSS). The analysis was conducted by performing two factorial balanced analyses of variance (ANOVA). Results: Bruise area, bruise volume, and bruise susceptibility were the highest at higher drop impact (60 cm) on pears stored at 22°C and the lowest were at lower drop impact (20 cm) on pears stored at 10°C. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant impact of drop height and temperature on bruising susceptibility. Besides, statistics showed a significant impact of the studied factors (temperature and drop height) on quality parameters of pears such as lightness (L*), redness-greenness (a*), weight loss, and firmness after 48 hours of storage Conclusion: Mechanical damages like bruising can be affected by many factors like storage temperature and impact level force. Finally, it was concluded that mechanical damages like bruising can be affected by many factors like storage temperature and impact force. Overall, this study can consider as a guideline for workers during postharvest operations and handling.

Bruise Susceptibility and Impact on Quality Parameters of Pears During Storage

Bruise damage is one of the mechanical injury problems that could appear in fresh produce during the post-harvest supply chain. The study investigated three main effects (drop impact level, storage temperature, and storage duration), which can expand the level of bruising and cause some quality changes that contribute to the damage of pear. Pear fruit samples were purchased from the market and delivered to the post-harvest laboratory. Each pear was impacted by a ball with a known mass at three different drop heights (20, 40, and 60 cm), stored at 22°C with 45 ± 5% RH and 10°C with 85 ± 5% RH for 14 days storage period. Bruise area (BA), bruise volume (BV), and bruise susceptibility (BS) were calculated. Different quality analyses were done like color, firmness, and total soluble solids (TSS). Analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression analysis, and pearson correlation coefficient were performed. With increasing drop height and temperature for 14 days storage, BA, BV, BS, lightness (L*), yellowness (b*), color saturation (Chroma), and total color difference increased. However, firmness was highly reduced (92.82%) due to the increase in drop height (60 cm), storage temperature (22°C), and storage duration (14 days). Color purity (Hue), redness (a*), and TSS were not affected by drop height (impact level). A strong relationship with a strong linear regression (R2) was found between BS and CIE L*, a*, and b* color coordinates. A positive and strong correlation was also found between BS and CIEL*a*b* color parameters with a strong and negative correlation with firmness. Overall, this study can be considered as guideline for horticulture researchers and in fresh produce supply chain during post-harvest operations.

Effect of Ca(NO3)2 coating on chemical and mechanical properties and bruise susceptibility of Golden Delicious and Red Delicious apples during storage

Effect of coating with calcium nitrate in three concentrations (0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 wt%) on chemical and mechanical properties, and impact behaviour of two apple cultivars (Golden Delicious (GD) and Red Delicious (RD)) during time (0, 2, and 4 months) was studied. Moisture content, pH, titratable acidity, °Brix, organoleptic properties, modulus of elasticity (E), yield stress, yield strain, and toughness were measured. The effect of impact loads was determined by measuring bruise volume (BV) and bruise susceptibility (BS). The results showed that pH and °Brix significantly increased, while titratable acidity, E, yield strain, toughness, and BV decreased during storage time. As Ca(NO3)2 concentration increased, titratable acidity, E, yield strain and yield stress increased and pH decreased (P < 0.05). Highest and lowest values for °Brix were observed in GD treated with 1.0% Ca(NO3)2 after four months (13.31) and GD treated with 0.5% Ca(NO3)2 at the first day (10.65), respectively. Maximum E was obtained in GD treated with 1.0% Ca(NO3)2 on the first day (2130 kPa) and this sample also showed the lowest BS after four months of storage (2.82 mL J−1), while the uncoated GD had the highest BS on the first day (7.11 mL J−1).

Does bruising influence the volatile profile of pears?

Purpose Volatile flavor plays a main role in defining the fruit quality by consumers. Bruising leads often to dark spots on fruits and its amount could highly affect product quality. This paper aims to study the effect of bruising on the volatilome released by pears by using proton transfer reaction – mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). Design/methodology/approach Fingerprints of non-bruised and bruised pear samples were collected through PTR-MS for 28 days, and discriminant analysis was used to discriminate the fruit products. The CIELAB color changes were also measured during the entire ripening period. Findings Bruised pears released a higher intensity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) compared to non-bruised pears (p16days = 0.049, p22days = 0.012, p28days = 0.006). In particular, the release of m/z 45 and m/z 47 were significantly (pm/z 45 = 0.076, pm/z 47 = 0.095.) higher in bruised samples, suggesting that the bruising event accelerated the natural ripening process. CIELAB color coordinates were also recorded. The coordinate a* showed a linear increase during the whole 28 days because of the loss of the green component. The CIELAB ΔE* was higher in the bruised pears than the non-bruised pears (p = 0.022). Originality/value Bruising can affect food quality and taste. Bruise susceptibility has been largely studied on apples, tomatoes and peaches, but rarely on pears. Very little is known about the effect of bruising on the volatilome of pears. Moreover, bruising research usually involved the study of physical properties; on the contrary, PTR-MS, applied to bruising research, has never been used before. Besides the analysis of volatilome, the changes in color were also recorded for the whole 28 days of analysis. The proposed method could be applied for the monitoring of pears quality in the food industry.

Evaluation of Tendency to Blackspot Bruising and Enzymatic Discoloration of Potato Tubers

Enzymatic discoloration of potato tubers initiated by mechanical impact bruising and the discoloration which appears after tuber cutting are crucial quality traits of the cultivated potato. The presented determination of blackspot bruise susceptibility includes evaluation of the trait with two impact methods - the rotating drum and the falling bolt. These two methods affect both the physical and the biochemical properties of tubers. Evaluation of the discoloration potential after tuber cutting (ED) is also discussed. Evaluating the discoloration potential of tubers is one of the most important points in determining potato quality.