ABSTRACT
Fruits and vegetables (F&V) constitute an important part of the human diet. F&V are a good source of vitamins, minerals, fibers, carbohydrates, lipids and phytochemicals. However, F&V are highly perishable, and around 30% of the products (up to 50% for certain products or in some countries) never reach the final consumers. It is of utmost importance to understand the factors affecting the postharvest quality of products in order to overcome this problem and reduce postharvest losses. Otherwise, it is not possible to develop/select/apply correct management practices for the postharvest handling of F&V. Postharvest losses mostly arise because freshly harvested F&V are living organisms, in which respiration and transpiration occure and which undergo biological changes during postharvest storage. In addition, ethylene (the ripening hormone) and pathogens may cause huge losses in the harvested crops during storage. The main external/environmental factors impacting these biological factors are temperature, relative humidity and atmospheric composition. Therefore, this chapter is aimed at listing and discussing these biological and environmental factors, which cause/accelerate/decelerate the deterioration of harvested fresh products.
