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In mechanised harvesting, processing may also begin as part of the actual harvest process, with initial cleaning and sorting performed by the harvesting machinery. Initial post-harvest storage conditions are critical to maintaining quality. Each crop has an optimum range of storage temperature and humidity.
Different food preservation methods have different impacts on the quality of the food and food systems. Some traditional methods of preserving food have been shown to have a lower energy input and carbon footprint compared to modern methods. [3] [2] Some methods of food preservation are also known to create carcinogens.
Post-harvest losses of vegetables and fruits occur at all points in the value chain from production in the field to the food being placed on a plate for consumption. Post-harvest activities include harvesting , handling, storage , processing , packaging , transportation and marketing .
In Africa, post-harvest losses of maize from harvest to market sale are believed to amount to around 10-20%. Approximately 40% of these losses occur during storage at the farm and market, 30% during processing (drying, threshing, and winnowing), 20% in transport from the field to the homestead/farm, and the remaining 10% during transport to market.
Curing is a technique for preservation of (usually edible) vegetable material. It involves storing the material in a prescribed condition immediately after harvest. It involves storing the material in a prescribed condition immediately after harvest.
Food production should be ecological in both origin and destiny (the term destiny refers to the post-harvest ecological footprint which results in getting produce to the consumer). Integration of species that maintain ecosystem services whilst providing a selection of alternative products.
For example, the appearance in the 1980s of preservation techniques under controlled atmosphere sparked a small revolution in the world's market for sheep meat: the lamb of New Zealand, one of the world's largest exporters of lamb, could henceforth be sold as fresh meat, since it could be preserved from 12 to 16 weeks, which was a sufficient ...
Food loss continues in the post-harvest stage, but the amounts of post-harvest loss involved are relatively unknown and difficult to estimate. [50]: 1 Regardless, the variety of factors that contribute to food loss, both biological/environmental and socio-economical, would limit the usefulness and reliability of general figures.