Fresh Produce Supply to Hong Kong Returned to Domestic Market

With the 19th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong back to China,the fresh produce supplied to Hong Kong also returned to domestic market.Since the focus of e-commerce competition has shifted towards business model and capital input,some people have been exploring new regional markets for fresh produce and seeking improvement in produce quality,standards and

Challenges in the microbiological food safety of fresh produce:Limitations of post-harvest washing and the need for alternative interventions

Fresh produce(processed fruit and vegetables)continues to be the main source of foodborne illness outbreaks implicating pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157:H7,Salmonella,Listeria monocytogenes and human parasites(e.g.hepatitis A,Cyclospora).Previously,outbreaks were primarily limited to leafy greens,tomatoes,and cantaloupes,but more recently there has been a trend of more diverse produce types(e.g.cucumbers and papayas)being implicated.Although on-farm good agriculture practices(GAP)contribute to preventing pathogens entering the fresh produce chain,it cannot be relied upon completely due to the open nature of farming.As a consequence,there is an identified need for interventions that can remove field-acquired contamination,especially given fresh produce is eaten raw.In the following review,an overview of foodborne illness outbreaks linked to contaminated fresh produce will be described along with potential sources of contamination.Post-harvest washing that was once considered decontamination is now viewed as a high-risk cross-contamination point.The challenges in monitoring the post-harvest wash process will be discussed along with processing factors that need to be considered.A range of alternative,or supplemental,non-aqueous interventions will be described including irradiation,ultraviolet light,high hydrostatic pressure,gas phase(ozone and chlorine dioxide),and hydroxyl radicals generated through advanced oxidative process or gas plasma.All have been proved to be effective at pathogen control on the laboratory scale and are poised to enter commercial application.The current status of these alternative interventions along with challenges of integrating into commercial practice will be described.

Optimal procurement strategy of fresh produce retailer under stochastic product qualification and market demand

Consider an optimal procurement strategy for fresh produce,which is a type of perishable product.Due to the different quality provided by each manufacturer,the fresh produce qualification rates are dissimilar.Simultaneously,consumers demand is influenced by the freshness and price of products,as a result,the demand in the market is not fixed.In this scenario,how a particular retailer should develop an optimal procurement strategy will be a core issue in supply chain management.In order to address the above questions,the Bayesian approach is adopted to explore retailer optimal procurement strategies with uncertainty about product supply and market demand.Finally,simulation data are used to analyse the results of the proposed model and expected non-random model to illustrate the validity and feasibility of the proposed model.

Ethylene scavenging film based on corn starch-gum acacia impregnated with sepiolite clay and its effect on quality of fresh broccoli florets

Barley(Hordeum vulgare L.)grasses(BG)have attracted considerable interest due to their multiple physiological activities and health benefits.In this paper,eight BG at four different growth stages were collected:seedling,tillering,stem elongation,and heading,and their product qualities and biological activities were examined and studied.Results demonstrated that harvest time obviously influenced proximate composition,surface color,and amino acid profile.Z21 and Z23 harvested at the seedling and early tillering stages,respectively,had higher total phenolic content(TPC)and total flavonoid content(TFC)than the other BG.Moreover,Z21 and Z23 possessed better DPPH radical-scavenging ability,antioxidant capacity,andα-glucosidase inhibitory activity,which were positively correlated with TPC,TFC,and protein and total amino acid contents.Our findings suggested that the early tillering stages were the preferable harvest times for BG with good product quality and biological properties.

Treatment of spent wash water derived from shredded lettuce processing using a combination of electrocoagulation and germicidal ultraviolet light

Objective:Water recycling is a significant part of an overall water management system.The current study evaluated electrocoagulation,used in combination with ultraviolet light(at 254 nm),to reduce the organic content and enhance the microbiological quality,of wash water derived from shredded lettuce processing.Method:The composition of spent wash water derived from a commercial lettuce processing operation was used to prepare a simulated solution to be applied to validate the water recycling system.The simulated spent wash water was subjected to an electrocoagulation process followed by filtration and a tertiary ultraviolet(254 nm)treatment.The efficacy of the recycling treatment to decrease turbidity(nephelometric turbidity units,biological oxygen demand(BOD),chemical oxygen demand(COD)and decrease in introduced bacterial numbers.Results:Spent wash water sampled from a commercial processing line was found to be colloidal in nature(78±26 NTU)with low total solids content(544±87 mg/L),BOD(230±53 mg/L)and COD(309±53 mg/L).An electrocogaultion process performed for 10 min using 3.48 A/m2 current density at pH 6.5 and conductivity of>100μS/cm supported an 87%removal of turbidity,38%reduction in BOD along with 49%decrease in COD.The electrocoagulation process was also found to reduce the levels of Escherichia coli,Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes by 1-2 log cfu.The tertiary UV treatment of water derived from the electro coagulation process,supported further reduction in model pathogens,although it was noted that the D values for inactivation were in the order of 1.01-1.60 mJ/cm^(2),which compares to 0.22-0.31 mJ/cm^(2) in saline.The apparent increase in bacterial resistance to ultraviolet was likely due to the UV absorbing low molecular weight constituents within wash water that provided protection against inactivation.Conclusion:In conclusion,the study demonstrated the feasibility of applying electrocoagulation and UV to rapidly treat spent lettuce wash water to facilitate in-process recycling within shredded lettuce processing operations.