TY - JOUR
T1 - Susceptibility to impact damage of apples inside ventilated corrugated paperboard packages
T2 - Effects of package design
AU - Fadiji, Tobi
AU - Coetzee, Corne
AU - Pathare, Pankaj
AU - Opara, Umezuruike Linus
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is based on research supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation. The financial support of the South African Postharvest Innovation Programme (PHI-2) and Hortgro Science through the award of a project on “Packaging of the Future” is gratefully acknowledged.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2016/1/1
Y1 - 2016/1/1
N2 - The incidence of fruit postharvest losses and waste due to mechanical damage during handling is a major problem in the fresh produce industry. Ventilated corrugated paperboard (VCP) packages used extensively in the fruit industry are designed to minimize handling damage and to facilitate airflow around the produce to maintain the cold chain. During handling and transportation, both the package and contents experience a range of force loading conditions, including impact, compression and vibration which may result in bruise damage. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impact bruise damage susceptibility of apples packed inside two ventilated carton designs (one with fruit on tray layers and the other with fruit in retail polyethylene plastic bags). The spatial variation of bruise damage inside the packages and the incidence of physical damage of the packages were also investigated. Results showed that both the incidence and susceptibility to bruise damage of the apples were affected by package design and drop heights; with more than 50% higher incidence and 66% higher bruise susceptibility occurring on fruit packed in the bulk package design than on those packed in the layered package design. Irrespective of package design, both bruising incidence and susceptibility were highest at the bottom of the package, which increased significantly by about 50% when the package drop height increased from 30. cm to 50. cm.
AB - The incidence of fruit postharvest losses and waste due to mechanical damage during handling is a major problem in the fresh produce industry. Ventilated corrugated paperboard (VCP) packages used extensively in the fruit industry are designed to minimize handling damage and to facilitate airflow around the produce to maintain the cold chain. During handling and transportation, both the package and contents experience a range of force loading conditions, including impact, compression and vibration which may result in bruise damage. The objectives of this study were to investigate the impact bruise damage susceptibility of apples packed inside two ventilated carton designs (one with fruit on tray layers and the other with fruit in retail polyethylene plastic bags). The spatial variation of bruise damage inside the packages and the incidence of physical damage of the packages were also investigated. Results showed that both the incidence and susceptibility to bruise damage of the apples were affected by package design and drop heights; with more than 50% higher incidence and 66% higher bruise susceptibility occurring on fruit packed in the bulk package design than on those packed in the layered package design. Irrespective of package design, both bruising incidence and susceptibility were highest at the bottom of the package, which increased significantly by about 50% when the package drop height increased from 30. cm to 50. cm.
KW - Accelerometer
KW - Apples
KW - Bruise susceptibility
KW - Impact damage
KW - Ventilated packaging
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U2 - 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2015.09.023
DO - 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2015.09.023
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84942762716
SN - 0925-5214
VL - 111
SP - 286
EP - 296
JO - Postharvest Biology and Technology
JF - Postharvest Biology and Technology
ER -