INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
CONTRIBUTORS
Jan Lievens , born in Belgium , was a graduate civil engineering ( BSc ) and international senior consultant for engineered applied postharvest technology at Humiditas South Africa . With over 20 years of experience in this field , he was widely regarded as a specialist in the fruit- , vegetable- and flower industry with regards to humidity , airborne bacteria and ethylene removal , both locally and internationally . Furthermore , he also designed airflowfriendly packaging systems for the industry with proven results .
Rubbing salt into the wound By Jan Lievens
Last week , somebody told me that with some of my articles I rub salt into the wound of the industry … Really ?
Supplied | Jan Lievens
It has never been and never will be my intention to rub salt in any wound for that matter , just to prove that point . But , if the industry is ‘ battling ’ with simple principles for over 46 years without really implementing nearly anything on what is known and explained , you wonder whether it is really rubbing salt into a wound or just ruffling feathers to organise a serious wakeup call for that same industry .
I was invited out two weeks ago by a German table grape specialist buyer from a German fruit trading company . After a very nice dinner in Paarl , he stated the following : “ After talking to you and realising that we work with a very technical and difficult product like table grapes , I now realise that for all these years we really did not put enough emphasis on correct postharvest procedures after harvest …”
That makes one think . Unfortunately , he is not alone in making this statement . More and more people start realising that in fact that statement is a sad reality . Oscar Salgado has put it forward on many occasions on an international level .
The reality now comes home as well . Due to longer transit times , the mistakes made after harvest are coming out more and more at the overseas destinations . And that has got one simple reason , mistakes made in postharvest are cumulative and irreversible and will come out , sooner rather than later . And that immediately affects your returns . Some producers under so much pressure at the moment may simply not make it for very much longer . Last season showed what happens when you get ‘ hammered ’ with quality claims .
I now realise that for all these years we really did not put enough emphasis on correct postharvest procedures after harvest …
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