Depending on the commodity this gas influences the ripening, so high concentrations tend to accelerate the process and lessen the shelf life.Īs storing a commodity above optimal temperature reduce its shelf life, storing at temperatures below optimal may also cause damage such as discoloration and improper ripening. Ethylene is also being generated once a fruit and vegetable is harvested. Maintaining appropriate food safety management standards. This process is different for each product type and results in ripening, which alters many attributes having a commercial value such as color, flavor and texture. As many as 1 in 10 Americans acquire a foodborne illness from a foodservice operation each year. Stale food results in unacceptable flavor, odor, accumulation of gases, release of exudates, physicochemical changes in appearance, consistency, and color. Once harvested fruits and vegetables are still living and therefore generating chemical reactions that consume oxygen and release carbon dioxide and water. Shelf-stable foods have lower water activity and/or low pH, whereas perishable foods have the opposite intrinsic properties (McMeekin and Ross, 1996). Although temperature is the most important factor mitigating the perishability of a food product, respiration and ethylene production are also significant for produces.

The above table depicts the shelf life of dominant perishable food products if kept under optimum storage temperature.

Food products begin to deteriorate the moment they are harvested or slaughtered, so it is primordial for cold chain logistics to insure that the cargo is kept in optimum storage conditions so that shelf life, and therefore commercial potential, is maximized.

Perishable foods