Insights

What is Post Harvest?

Post harvest for fresh fruit, vegetables and root crops is a science created with the aim of:

• Reducing the level of weight loss after harvesting fruits and vegetables.
• Maintaining fruit and vegetable quality for the final consumer

Post harvest treatments deal with fruit protection and enhance fruit quality, the development of post harvest treatments has permitted the creation of the current global fruit and vegetable trade.

Importance of post harvest

At the present time, production and consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables is growing globally, according to FAO the gross production value of the worldwide fresh market was 1.245 trillion USD in 2014.

40% of food production is wasted in developing countries at retail and consumer levels. 40% of food production is wasted in these countries at the processing level as well. Likewise, 45% of root crop fruit and vegetables are wasted, representing the highest wastage rate.

FAO has stated several times its concern about food loss and the growing population rate This is not a matter of increasing production but an issue of food management, where Post harvest treatments can play a major role.

Causes of losses in post harvested fruit and vegetables:

There are two main causes of losses of post harvested fruit and vegetables:

• Physical-chemical damages: This damage can be caused by mechanical risk such as: blows, rubbing… or ambient risks like: high/low temperatures, toxic gases, etc.
• Biological process: Breathing, development and senescence, diseases and pathologies… DECCO as a post harvest company has developed products that when combined with its equipment, and the expertise of its employees can maximize the profitability of your post harvest management.

Consequences of post harvest losses:

The consequences of post harvest losses can be split in two, economic losses due to:

• Product loss
• Reduction in product lifespan
• Decrease in quality

And environmental losses, as resources have been used to produce fruit and vegetables and at the end the production becomes wastage.

Decco’s post harvest services:

DECCO as a Post harvest service oriented firm, with more than 50 years of experience working close with growers across the world offers its expertise in post harvest treatments for citrus, apple and pears, stone fruits, exotic fruits, potatoes and more.

DECCO offers a large product range in order to assure fruit and vegetable protection. Each treatment has been adapted to the fruit and the equipment available. Fifty years of experience allow DECCO to offer personalized post harvest treatments that meet the needs of growers and packing houses.

There are 5 major product lines:

• Fungicides used to avoid fungal diseases that can rot the harvest.
• Sanitizers, food safety is mandatory, therefore DECCO has created a wide range of products to prevent Salmonella, Esquerichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, etc
• Waxes and edible coatings: made from food additives, resins, or some combination of them.
• Transportation solutions: Sachets, thermographs, transport filters…
• Near Harvest solutions: a range of fertilizers and sun guard solutions.

Each country where DECCO is present has its own catalogue adapted to meet the national legislation requirements for each territory.