segment of consumers willing to pay for both convenience and quality.
The future for minimally processed, refrigerated vegetables packaged in
a modified atmosphere depends on the ability of physiologists to deliver
fruits and vegetables that are more exciting to consumers. Mixed pack-
ages of ready-to-use vegetables with improved flavor, color and texture
might entice wary consumers to buy and eat vegetables they are less fa-
miliar with. Mixed vegetables present a new challenge to researchers
who have mostly focused on a single vegetable. A mixed package means
that the vegetables selected must be compatible within the anticipated
storage conditions and duration.
Most of the efforts made to improve of quality during postharvest
handling and storage of vegetables have focused on the interaction be-
tween the produce and the environment in order to obtain the most suit-
able conditions for maintaining freshness and shelf life. Other quality
parameters such as flavor and texture deserve more attention in the fu-
ture. When optimizing freshness is it possible to improve flavor with-
out negative influences on the texture? Progress within molecular
biology may make it possible to introduce dominant genes that confer
ethylene insensibility to commodities that are sensitive to ethylene fol-
lowing harvest. Germplasm from stay-green mutants (Smart, 1994) could
be used to avoid incipient yellowing of chlorophyll-containing vegeta-
bles. While consumers tend to focus on the extrinsic properties of fruit
and vegetables, how much importance should be given to intrinsic qual-
ity characteristics by physiology? There is a need for easy and less ex-
pensive nondestructive methods for quality evaluation and control. An
electronic nose is being tested for evaluation of flavor in food while in-
frared and fluorescence techniques show promise for quantifying dif-
ferent components.
Vegetables have an image as being healthy and nutritious. Posthar-
vest physiologists must ensure that handling does not compromise nu-
trition at the expense of appearance. Between physiologists and the
consumers lies the “Postharvest System” consisting of all the people in-
volved: breeders, growers, packers, truck drivers, retailers, and so on—
all devoted to offering the consumer the best of quality. It is obvious
that further progress is not possible without an integrated view.
REFERENCES
Abdalla, A. A. and Mann, L. K. 1963. Bulb development in the onion (Allium cepa
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