Forty percent loss is far too high, especially for produce such as corn. These are usually hardy crops after harvest, but, most USA produce is packaged at the field site and then loaded on to refrigerator trucks in a short period of time. Some produce need what is known in the USA as "Top Ice."
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia (click here) leads in agriculture production among the GCC countries, but loses much of its produce due to post-harvest handling and food spillage.
“The Kingdom loses at least 40 percent of its agriculture produce, especially vegetables and fruits,” Riyadh-based Hans van der Beek, Dutch agricultural counselor to GCC countries, said Wednesday.
“The loss does not mean only farm produce, but also loss of water. The losses in dates alone is huge, considering that the Kingdom produces an estimate 1 million tons annually,” he said. “Now, the question is what can we do to assist Saudi Arabia in reducing these losses?”
The agriculture expert said the Netherlands has come up with a project, the aim of which is to find the bottlenecks in the value chain, such as in storage, transportation and import handling at the Customs, he said. “We want to improve the situation by helping Saudi stakeholders to identify these bottlenecks. We have done this in the Netherlands,” he said.
The reason the USA has success in transporting produce sometimes leaving California and arriving in New York is because of the research of the USDA. There are publications from the USDA that can easily apply to the produce of Saudi Arabia.
This is about "top-icing" to keep produce in transport fresh inside a refrigerator truck. While refrigerators work to keep the produce cool to prevent spoiling, the air within the trailer can be dry. Top ice melts through the transportation process and adds humidity to some produce such as carrots.
...Ice (click here)
Ice is a good absorber of heat (table 1) and also helps to maintain humidity in loads of fresh produce. The main drawbacks for ice are its weight, which cuts down on the payload; the difficulty and expense of replenishing ice en route; the need for water-resistant packaging when applied as top-ice; and the damage some fresh fruit and vegetables incur when contacted by ice.Crushed or slush-ice blown over the top of produce loads is used to refrigerate and maintain high levels of humidity for certain products. This is known as “top-icing.” Some shippers may apply the crushed ice or slush- ice to individual pallet loads or in individual boxes of product (package-ice) before loading.....
There is a bit of an art to it to prevent heavy ice from hurting the crops in transport. So, representatives of Saudi Arabia should come to southern California and witness how they do it and what crops are best served by additional moisture in the trailers.
But, the farmers of southern California are masters at transportation of produce. They have produce such as grapes of many varieties that need care in handling to reach the consumer in good condition.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia (click here) leads in agriculture production among the GCC countries, but loses much of its produce due to post-harvest handling and food spillage.
“The Kingdom loses at least 40 percent of its agriculture produce, especially vegetables and fruits,” Riyadh-based Hans van der Beek, Dutch agricultural counselor to GCC countries, said Wednesday.
“The loss does not mean only farm produce, but also loss of water. The losses in dates alone is huge, considering that the Kingdom produces an estimate 1 million tons annually,” he said. “Now, the question is what can we do to assist Saudi Arabia in reducing these losses?”
The agriculture expert said the Netherlands has come up with a project, the aim of which is to find the bottlenecks in the value chain, such as in storage, transportation and import handling at the Customs, he said. “We want to improve the situation by helping Saudi stakeholders to identify these bottlenecks. We have done this in the Netherlands,” he said.
The reason the USA has success in transporting produce sometimes leaving California and arriving in New York is because of the research of the USDA. There are publications from the USDA that can easily apply to the produce of Saudi Arabia.
This is about "top-icing" to keep produce in transport fresh inside a refrigerator truck. While refrigerators work to keep the produce cool to prevent spoiling, the air within the trailer can be dry. Top ice melts through the transportation process and adds humidity to some produce such as carrots.
...Ice (click here)
Ice is a good absorber of heat (table 1) and also helps to maintain humidity in loads of fresh produce. The main drawbacks for ice are its weight, which cuts down on the payload; the difficulty and expense of replenishing ice en route; the need for water-resistant packaging when applied as top-ice; and the damage some fresh fruit and vegetables incur when contacted by ice.Crushed or slush-ice blown over the top of produce loads is used to refrigerate and maintain high levels of humidity for certain products. This is known as “top-icing.” Some shippers may apply the crushed ice or slush- ice to individual pallet loads or in individual boxes of product (package-ice) before loading.....
There is a bit of an art to it to prevent heavy ice from hurting the crops in transport. So, representatives of Saudi Arabia should come to southern California and witness how they do it and what crops are best served by additional moisture in the trailers.
But, the farmers of southern California are masters at transportation of produce. They have produce such as grapes of many varieties that need care in handling to reach the consumer in good condition.
