It turns out the strawberry and cherry have been perfected, it’s
their packaging that needs improvement. Researchers at the
University of California, Davis are on the case.
It turns out the strawberry and cherry have been perfected, it’s their packaging that needs improvement. Researchers at the University of California, Davis are on the case.
Delicate fruit suffers in any packaging. Airy small green crates allow fruit to cool properly but cause a lot of physical damage. See-through clam shell packages are more protective, but retain too much heat in their current design.
“What we are looking at is having a better understanding of airflow through the fruit so we can design the right package and get it to the consumer without spoilage,” said Paul Singh, a professor of food engineering at UC Davis. “The package design is very important.”
“Controlling the cooling process of harvested fruit is key to maintaining, its freshness,” Singh said.
Preliminary experiments have revealed that the cooling process is affected by a complex interaction of design features, including vent size, vent placement, percentage of total vent area and the way cartons are loaded for shipping.
On a hot day, Singh said, fruit that is not cooling quickly and evenly can spoil in just a few hours. He said his research team hopes to have design ideas in about a year.
