Equation for predicting shelf life of an apple

摘要

The shelf-life of a Fruit is critical in determining both its quality and profitability. Everyone benefits from healthy produce. Approximately Rs. 105 Crores {$200 million} is lost each year in India due to waste caused by post harvest diseases, poor temperature management, bruising and other factors. Shelf life is nothing but date of minimum durability. An apple is not dead at the time of harvest. It remains a living, respiring organism and continues to take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide and another gas, ethylene. Since the apple is no longer receiving nutrients from the tree but is still respiring, it must use up the food it has stored over the growing season. The low temperature, high humidity, and exchange of gases through air circulation serve to slow those natural events as much as possible. A mathematical relationship has been established for predicting the shelf life of an apple. Our study quantitatively takes in to account parameters such as firmness, colour of apple, atmospheric temperature, and respiration rate. This fundamental equation could be potentially used by farmers, food malls, and big food chains. This relationship can be extended to predict shelf life of perishable fruits.