USE OF PRECOOLING SYSTEMS AS A TREATMENT AGAINST TEMPERATURE ABUSE DURING AIR SHIPMENT OF ASPARAGUS

摘要

Temperature abuses during flight and ground operations are the major causes of loss of quality in horticultural commodities. The objective of this work was to determine which cooling method, should be employed after a temperature abuse during air shipment of asparagus, using different types of cooling methods. In order to simulate time and temperature abuse during handling, asparagus were stored for 20 hours at 20°C. Spears were then cooled using different methods: forced-air cooling at 1°C, room cooling at 1°C and 10°C or maintained at 20°C. Quality of asparagus was evaluated before and after exposure for 20 h at 20°C, and during a 15 days period. Forced-air cooled spears gained in average 1 to 3 days of shelf life when compared to room cooled asparagus at 1°C and 10°C. Therefore, when a shipment of warm asparagus arrives at the airport facilities a forced-air cooling treatment at 1°C should be applied in order to minimize quality losses.