Report: Factors Affecting Moisture Loss in Fruits and Vegetables

This report summarizes an experiment conducted to study moisture loss in fruits and vegetables over a 14-day period. The study monitored various fruits in a controlled environment, focusing on moisture loss and weight changes. Key factors influencing moisture loss were identified, including storage conditions, time elapsed since harvesting, and the use of chemical compounds. The process of transpiration and its impact on different fruits and vegetables were also analyzed. The report highlights the importance of proper cold storage and packaging, and the role of natural and artificial wax coatings in reducing moisture loss. The findings emphasize the need for improved pre- and post-harvest practices to enhance fruit quality and extend shelf life, with specific attention to humidity levels and handling methods during storage and transportation. The study concludes that condensation and temperature fluctuations significantly affect moisture loss, underscoring the importance of controlled environments in preserving the quality of fruits and vegetables. The report references several research papers and journals to support its findings.

MOISTURE LOSS IN
FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
DISCUSSION..................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4

DISCUSSION
The experiment that was conducted in the class regarding the rate of moisture loss in fruits
and vegetables was a very enlightening process where the learning undertaken was extensive
regarding the gradual moisture loss during the time period of 14 days. Certain fruits were tested
in a controlled environment and the transformation was monitored everyday for a period of 14
days so that the track of moisture loss could be maintained (Ahmed, Qazi and Jamal, 2016).
Although the major objective of the test was to monitor the rate of moisture loss as well as
retention, but focus was also laid on the weight of every group being tested. It was identified that
there are various factors that can be termed as basis for the rate at which moisture is lost during
14 days time period:
 The manner or the environment in which the product was stored.
 The time taken between harvesting.
 The chemical compounds that are being used in order to maintain the products.
Further during the study, the process of transpiration was also analysed. Transpiration
basically signifies the process of loss of water in fruits or vegetables where the moisture that is
present in the skin of the product evaporates and through the process of convection, settles on
other surrounding objects (Singh and Sharma, 2018). However, this rate of water loss varies
from product to product based on its type. For instance, if one observes green or leafy
vegetables, then they will lose their moisture and wilt even with just 3- 5% of water loss but
comparatively, nectarines on the other hand do not shrivel until there is almost 19% water loss
(Yousuf, Qadri and Srivastava, 2018). The major reason due to which loss in water level arises is
primarily due to the lack of proper cold storage facilities for the products. Additionally, when the
packaging of the products is not proper or the goods produced are not of highest quality, then
also the rate of perishability and moisture loss increases drastically (Thompson and et.al., 2018).
This is the reason behind the increased wastage of the goods produced through horticulture
where the lack of proper cold storage facilities and due to non – availability of the controlled
environment, their perishability rate increases and therefore, unnecessarily the wastage of the
product increases. Additionally, as per the report published by MFPI the wastage of the fruits
and green vegetables is mainly i.e. in 35% of cases, the reason behind it lack of any proper
storage, transportation and warehousing facility after the harvesting of the product has been
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done. Therefore, lack of proper infrastructure facility is a major reason behind increased rate of
perishability in the fruits and vegetable specifically.
Apart from this another major finding that was highlighted in the test was that the fruits have
their own shield of natural wax (Jalali and et.al., 2017). This natural wax shield helps in the
protection from moisture loss but as and when the fruit or vegetable is washed, the natural wax
layer corrodes which leaves the fruit or vegetable prone to increased moisture loss.
As an experiment, oranges were taken for the research. Some of the oranges were washed with a
detergent and were punctured and another set of oranges were left with their natural wax coat.
Both the categories of oranges were placed in unsuitable storage conditions where the chances of
moisture loss were higher. This was done for 12 days and over the course of time, the
transformation was observed keenly. It was observed that the ones that were washed with
detergents lost their moisture at an extremely increased pace as compared to the ones that had
their layer of natural coating intact (Li and et.al., 2018).
This can help in concluding that artificial wax can be applied on these fruits and vegetables
especially on products like apples, citrus, nectarines etc. which will reduce the moisture loss and
additionally it will also protect the fruits from the post harvest decay that is most likely to occur
much rapidly, the regular washing of the product to keep it clean and remove the dirt erodes this
natural wax layer very quickly. Apart from this, application of artificial wax also seals all the
cracks in the fruits thus reducing the chances of any fungal or bacterial spread thus increasing the
shelf life of the product. This can also be attributed from the fact that the oranges that were
coated with wax had longer shelf life as compared to the ones that were not coated thus
increasing the shelf life of the oranges and proving the fact to be true (Flores-López and et.al.,
2016). The various different factors that were found to affect the moisture loss level were
transport conditions, the storage facilities, the chemicals that were used to increase the shelf life
etc. The following tables depict the shelf life of two different categories of oranges that were
taken for the research.
CONCLUSION
The entire research conducted above helps in concluding that the condensation is a major
process which increases the moisture loss and the fluctuations in the temperature or the
inadequate air supply lead to increased rate of moisture loss. It was also concluded that during
the process of transportation and storage, special care needs to be taken of the product. The
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importance of inculcating better pre harvesting practices can also be discussed where it can be
illustrated that when both pre and post harvesting practices are good, then it automatically leads
to a better quality of fruit. Therefore different activities such as use of fertilisers, cultivation
techniques etc. must be taken into consideration. Additionally, some vegetables and fruits such
as leafy vegetables, carrots etc. perish at a faster rate as compared to the other fruits and
therefore there perseverance is more critical. Therefore, after the harvest, humidity level, body
handling methods etc. must be done after extremely careful consideration thus concluding that
the storage techniques play a huge role in increasing the moisture level and thus the shelf life of
the fruits and vegetables. Also, the importance of post harvest was highlighted in the report.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ahmed, I., Qazi, I.M. and Jamal, S., 2016. Developments in osmotic dehydration technique for
the preservation of fruits and vegetables. Innovative Food Science & Emerging
Technologies. 34. pp.29-43.
Flores-López, M.L., and et.al., 2016. Perspectives on utilization of edible coatings and nano-
laminate coatings for extension of postharvest storage of fruits and vegetables. Food
engineering reviews. 8(3). pp.292-305.
Jalali, A., and et.al., 2017. A comprehensive simulation program for modified atmosphere and
humidity packaging (MAHP) of fresh fruits and vegetables. Journal of Food
Engineering. 206. pp.88-97.
Li, J., and et.al., 2018. Effects of wax coating on the moisture loss of cucumbers at different
storage temperatures. Journal of food quality, 2018.
Singh, D. and Sharma, R.R., 2018. Postharvest diseases of fruits and vegetables and their
management. In Postharvest Disinfection of Fruits and Vegetables (pp. 1-52). Academic
Press.
Thompson, A.K., and et.al., 2018. Controlled atmosphere storage of fruit and vegetables. CABI.
Yousuf, B., Qadri, O.S. and Srivastava, A.K., 2018. Recent developments in shelf-life extension
of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables by application of different edible coatings: A
review. Lwt, 89, pp.198-209.
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