ABSTRACT
Fresh fruits and vegetables always have formed part of the human diet, but even from the early history of crop cultivation, producers and distributors were concerned about postharvest losses. Furthermore, worldwide international trade in fruits and vegetables is severely constrained by postharvest decay losses and quarantine and phytosanitary barriers, which were erected to prevent spread of fungal and bacterial diseases in harvested fresh and fresh-cut produce. Fungicides and other pesticides are used to prevent pest and fungus proliferation on produce, but these chemical treatments are under increasing scrutiny because of their potential harm to human health and the natural environment. Therefore, alternative methods of controlling postharvest decay are being developed and applied. Prestorage physical treatments, including hot water dipping, brief hot water rinsing and brushing, heat treatments with hot air or steam, and radio frequency irradiation, reduce subsequent decay losses, provide quarantine security, and preserve produce quality during cold storage and shelf life. The aim of this chapter is to summarize the information accumulated recently regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using physical treatments, applied alone or in combination with other means, to control postharvest decay in fruits and vegetables, and to shed more light on the potential of these treatments to harm products.
