Improved quality of Norwegian fruits, potatoes and vegetables after long- and short-term storage

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The project aims to improve the competence of postharvest management of Norwegian grown fruits, potatoes and vegetables. A major part of the Norwegian production of these commodities is stored. The annual postharvest loss is worth roughly 1 billion NOK. T his represents enormous values for society. The postharvest losses caused by various factors may be reduced by up to 20% if the results from the project are implemented. This corresponds to a value of NOK 200 mill annually. In addition the project aims to promote increased daily intake of fruit and vegetables in Norway by proving new knowledge on fresh produce ready for consumption. Potatoes, carrots and apples are all suitable for long-term storage. Limiting factors for optimal quality of these commodit ies are usually diseases and loss of texture and weight. They may also lose flavour and nutritional value. Quality after storage is greatly influenced by the choice and stability of the storage conditions, while many of the problems originate during the g rowing season. This project will mainly concentrate on raw product physiology as influenced by pre-harvest factors and on relevant methods to predict behaviour during storage. In addition packed vegetable mixes as models for short-term studies of ready-to -use consumer products will be studied. For potato the main focus will be on maturity, fungal diseases and various storage techniques. For apples studies on the relationship between cell number and sizes and storability will be studied in relation to clim atic conditions, nutrition and maturity. The carrot studies will concentrate on maturity, fungal disease pressure and cultivars related to their storage potential. The short-term storage of mixtures of minimally processed vegetables, including carrots, w ill be studied with focus on processing and packaging related to sensory quality and human health parameters.