CONTRIBUTORS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Preserving quality after
harvest is not by chance
By Jan Lievens, senior consultant on applied postharvest technologies, UTE South Africa
To become a serious player in the competitive world of table-grape marketing,
nothing is more important than how you treat produce after the harvest.
COLD LINK AFRICA •
OCTOBER 2019
E
gyptian farmers are producing high-
quality products in their orchards
and vineyards.
In the past they were mainly focused
on the local market, but recent
developments have changed this. They
are now exporting more and more of
their produce to various international
markets. This puts extra pressure on them
to maintain perfect quality after the
harvest up to the point when produce
reaches the destination markets.
Earlier this year I was invited by
the Horticultural Export Improvement
Association (HEIA) in Egypt to speak
on postharvest technologies and how
to preserve the quality of the excellent
Egyptian fruit after harvest. The initial visit
was so well received that the farmers
asked HEIA to organise a second visit
during their harvest season in July. Four
of the seven initial farmers, where an
individual visit was done just before
the harvest season, invited me back
to their farms to discuss the practical
implementation of the theory of the
window of opportunity and to have a
look at their operations during the harvest.
The other three farms sent delegates
to the seminar. Various other farmers
Jan Lievens, born in Belgium, is
a graduate civil engineering(B)
and international senior
consultant for engineered
applied postharvest technology
at UTE South Africa. With over
20 years of experience in this
field, he is 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 airflow-friendly
packaging systems for the
industry with proven results.
I shake hands with Taghreed Mohammed, the driving force behind the operations to get the
right technology implemented.
also requested individual visits. So, in
early July, I went back to Egypt and
conducted individual visits as well as
presenting a full seminar.
The response I received was once
again amazing and while I was going
around the farms, several items were
discussed. It is always very nice to be able
to have an intense and detailed consult
with owners, managers and senior staff on
a farm which is in full swing.
Various issues on applied postharvest
technology have been discussed, such
as timing between harvest and receiving
or precooling, temperature and humidity
in pre-coolers in relation to temperatures
in the packhouse, fast cooling tunnels
practical designs, carton designs and
holding rooms. Often people do things
out of routine without even knowing what
is going wrong in the process. People start
realising that nature does not break her
own laws and that by doing the same
things year after year and hoping that the
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