Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2022) | Viewed by 20783

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Special Issue Editor

School of Food & Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Xuefu Road 301, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Interests: fruit; vegetable; infrared; blanching; drying; process; quality; texture; ultrasound; microstructure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural products like fruit, vegetable and cereal, are reckoned to be one of the most crucial sources of certain phytonutrients necessary for humans, such as vitamins, dietary fibers, and minerals. However, agricultural products are prone to quality deterioration during storage at ambient temperature. Currently, the annual post-harvest loss rate of agricultural products can reach up to 20–30%. Owing to their perishable nature, the development of processing and preservation technologies for agricultural products is an important research topic closely associated with the national economy and people’s livelihood that has attracted ever-increasing attention.

In view of the prominent issues of high-energy-consuming, high-cost, serious pollution, and low-quality properties in agricultural products manufacturing, our journal mainly focuses on research articles on novel techniques and the underlying mechanisms of the processing, preservation, and quality control of agricultural products, so as to promote the upgrading and updating of the agricultural products industry.

Prof. Dr. Bengang Wu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • agricultural products
  • novel techniques
  • processing
  • preservation
  • quality

Published Papers (11 papers)

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13 pages, 1756 KiB  
Article
Characterisation of Pasting, Structural and Volatile Properties of Potato Flour
by Haining Zhuang, Shiyi Liu, Kexin Wang, Rui Zhong, Joshua Harington Aheto, Junwen Bai and Xiaoyu Tian
Agriculture 2022, 12(12), 1974; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12121974 - 22 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1195
Abstract
Potato flour is an important raw material for potato staple food products; nevertheless, the quality and flavor vary significantly due to process changes. In this study, the physicochemical features of fresh and five different dehydration temperature potato samples, including the degree of starch [...] Read more.
Potato flour is an important raw material for potato staple food products; nevertheless, the quality and flavor vary significantly due to process changes. In this study, the physicochemical features of fresh and five different dehydration temperature potato samples, including the degree of starch gelatinization (DG), pasting, structure properties and volatile components, were compared to investigate the effect of hot air drying (HAD) on potato flour. The results showed that the degree of pasting, viscosity and volatile aroma components changed significantly with differences in drying temperature. With the increase in drying temperature, the gelatinization degree and peak viscosity of potato powder increased or decreased, the breakdown viscosity of HAD-50 was higher, the setback viscosity of HAD-90 was higher, while the crystallization zone of HAD-90 was destroyed due to the high temperature. The flavor components of potato flour are increased during processing due to lipid oxidation, Maillard reaction and thermal degradation. The level of aldehydes,3,5-Octadien-2-one and E,E)-3,5-Octadien-2-one gradually reduced as the processing temperature increased, while the content of furans grew and then decreased, nonanal and 2-Penty-l-Furan increased. Overall, lower HAD temperatures are beneficial for the quality and flavor of potato flour. The information presented here will be useful for the further development of potato flour products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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11 pages, 927 KiB  
Article
Characterization of Polyphenols in a Sicilian Autochthonous White Grape Variety (PDO) for Monitoring Production Process and Shelf-Life of Wines
by Mattia Rapa, Vanessa Giannetti and Maurizio Boccacci Mariani
Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1888; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111888 - 10 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1184
Abstract
Sicilian wines have shown a growing expansion in the international market, and over 60% of the production of them is focused on quality products. Grillo is a white grape variety, and it is among the best-known variety, with a cultivated area of 6300 [...] Read more.
Sicilian wines have shown a growing expansion in the international market, and over 60% of the production of them is focused on quality products. Grillo is a white grape variety, and it is among the best-known variety, with a cultivated area of 6300 ha and with the vocation of being particularly predisposed to aging for years or even decades. This paper aimed to perform a physiochemical (SSC and pH) and polyphenolic characterization of Grillo wines that were produced by a selected winery in the years 2011–2021 using an optimized RP-HPLC-DAD method. The polyphenols fraction was assessed by means a semiquantitative analysis on which, statistical processing was carried out. The HCA and PCA highlighted the presence of three clusters in the samples. Cluster 1 was composed of the samples from the years 2011–2014, cluster 2 composed of the samples from 2015–2017, and cluster 3 composed of the samples from 2019–2021. Using an HSD Tukey test, it was possible to point out that some compounds were makers of specific clusters and therefore, specific vintages. This preliminary study showed that polyphenols are suitable markers that can be used to identify Grillo vintages, and they should be also related to the storage conditions or different production processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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17 pages, 7392 KiB  
Article
Potato Slices Drying: Pretreatment Affects the Three-Dimensional Appearance and Quality Attributes
by Jun-Wen Bai, Yi Dai, Yu-Chi Wang, Jian-Rong Cai, Lu Zhang and Xiao-Yu Tian
Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1841; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111841 - 03 Nov 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2439
Abstract
In the current study, the effects of steam blanching, saline immersion, and ultrasound pretreatment on the drying time, three-dimensional (3D) appearance, quality characteristics, and microstructure of potato slices were investigated. All the pretreatment methods enhanced the drying kinetics relative to the untreated potato [...] Read more.
In the current study, the effects of steam blanching, saline immersion, and ultrasound pretreatment on the drying time, three-dimensional (3D) appearance, quality characteristics, and microstructure of potato slices were investigated. All the pretreatment methods enhanced the drying kinetics relative to the untreated potato slices. The 3D appearance was evaluated by reconstructed 3D images, shrinkage, and curling degree. The reconstructed images could well reproduce the appearance changes in the potato slices during drying. All the three pretreatment methods reduced the shrinkage during the drying process relative to the untreated potatoes. The curling degree was evaluated by the height standard deviation (HSD) of the material surface. The results showed that saline immersion inhibited the curling of the potato slices during the drying process, while ultrasound aggravated the curling of the potato slices. The potatoes treated by blanching obtained a lower total color difference (ΔE), higher total polyphenol content, and antioxidant capacity compared with the samples treated with saline immersion and ultrasound pretreatments. The observation of the microstructure by scanning electron microscope (SEM) verified the effects of the pretreatments on the drying time and appearance deformation. Therefore, it is of great significance to regulate the 3D appearance and quality characteristics of agricultural products during the drying process by an appropriate pretreatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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13 pages, 2137 KiB  
Article
Comparative Evaluation of Physicochemical Properties, Microstructure, and Antioxidant Activity of Jujube Polysaccharides Subjected to Hot Air, Infrared, Radio Frequency, and Freeze Drying
by Bengang Wu, Chengcheng Qiu, Yiting Guo, Chunhong Zhang, Dan Li, Kun Gao, Yuanjin Ma and Haile Ma
Agriculture 2022, 12(10), 1606; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12101606 - 04 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1340
Abstract
In this study, we used four drying methods (hot air, freezing, infrared, and radio frequency) to dry fresh jujube and its polysaccharide extracts by a two-step drying method, and the effects of the drying methods on the physical and chemical properties, structural properties, [...] Read more.
In this study, we used four drying methods (hot air, freezing, infrared, and radio frequency) to dry fresh jujube and its polysaccharide extracts by a two-step drying method, and the effects of the drying methods on the physical and chemical properties, structural properties, and antioxidant activity of jujube polysaccharides were studied. The results showed significant differences in the yield, drying time, monosaccharide content, molecular weight, apparent viscosity, thermal stability, and microstructure of the polysaccharides treated under the different drying methods. In contrast, no significant differences in the monosaccharide composition and functional groups of the polysaccharide samples obtained from the different drying methods were observed. Among all the tested methods, the freeze-drying extraction rate was the highest, reaching 4.52 ± 0.19%, while its drying time was the longest. Although the extraction rate of radio frequency drying was only 3.55 ± 0.21%, the drying time was the shortest, compared with hot air drying, the drying time was reduced by 76.67–83.29%, and the obtained polysaccharides exerted good antioxidant activity. Therefore, radio frequency drying is a potential polysaccharide extraction and drying technique, and this study can provide a theoretical basis for its industrial production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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17 pages, 4805 KiB  
Article
Design and Performance Evaluation of a Multi-Point Extrusion Walnut Cracking Device
by Hong Zhang, Hualong Liu, Yong Zeng, Yurong Tang, Zhaoguo Zhang and Ji Che
Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1494; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091494 - 18 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2113
Abstract
The practical problems of existing methods of walnut cracking under compression loading, including incomplete walnut-shell crushing, broken walnut kernels, and so on, are widespread in walnut processing and are constraints that hinder mechanized walnut processing. Therefore, attempts have been made to design and [...] Read more.
The practical problems of existing methods of walnut cracking under compression loading, including incomplete walnut-shell crushing, broken walnut kernels, and so on, are widespread in walnut processing and are constraints that hinder mechanized walnut processing. Therefore, attempts have been made to design and optimize a multi-point extrusion walnut cracking device. For this, walnuts were fed manually into a cracking unit through the hopper. The tangential force of the grading roller graded the walnuts and dropped them into the gap between the rotating cracking roller and extrusion plate, causing them to crack. The developed machine was tested and the parameters were optimized using a central composite design (CCD). The objective functions involving the cracking angle (CA: 0.17, 0.27, 0.52, 0.76, 0.86°) and roller speed (RS: 63, 75, 105, 135, 147 r/min) were calculated. The shell cracking rate (SCR), whole kernel rate (WKR), and specific energy consumption (Es) regression models were established using the quadratic regression orthogonal combination test and the parameters were optimized using MATLAB software. The results showed that the most significant factors for the RS were the linear terms of the SCR and WKR, whereas for the CA the most significant factor was the linear term of the Es. The interaction term of the two factors had a significant effect on the three indicators. The optimal parameter combination was determined to be 0.47° for the CA and 108 r/min for the RS. On this basis, the adaptability test showed that the cracking device had a better cracking effect on walnuts with a gap between the walnut shell and kernel greater than 1.6 mm and a shell thickness less than 1.2 mm. The results have practical significance for the design of walnut cracking devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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13 pages, 3636 KiB  
Article
Construction and Verification of Spherical Thin Shell Model for Revealing Walnut Shell Crack Initiation and Expansion Mechanism
by Xiulan Bao, Biyu Chen, Peng Dai, Yishu Li and Jincheng Mao
Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1446; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091446 - 13 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1887
Abstract
Walnut shell breaking is the first step of deep walnut processing. This study aims to investigate the mechanical properties and fracture state of the Qingxiang walnut shell under unidirectional load and guide the complete separation of the walnut shell and kernel. The spherical [...] Read more.
Walnut shell breaking is the first step of deep walnut processing. This study aims to investigate the mechanical properties and fracture state of the Qingxiang walnut shell under unidirectional load and guide the complete separation of the walnut shell and kernel. The spherical thin shell model of the walnut (the fitting error is less than 5%) was established and verified. The process from the initiation to the expansion of walnut cracks was analyzed. The crack expansion rate was estimated in terms of the crack fracture regularity on the shell’s surface. Based on the momentless theory and finite element simulation analysis, we found that the stress on the shell surface in the concentrated force action region was gradient distributed from inside to outside and that the internal forces were equal in all directions in the peripheral force action region. The unidirectional impact shell-breaking experiments confirmed the reliability of our spherical thin shell model and verified our hypothesis of walnut shell fracture along the longitudinal grain. Our results can provide a theoretical basis for the development and structural optimization of shell-breaking machinery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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14 pages, 47381 KiB  
Article
Biomechanical Characterization of Bionic Mechanical Harvesting of Tea Buds
by Kun Luo, Zhengmin Wu, Chengmao Cao, Kuan Qin, Xuechen Zhang and Minhui An
Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1361; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091361 - 01 Sep 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1854
Abstract
To date, mechanized picking of famous tea (bud, one bud one leaf) causes a lot of damage. Manual picking results in high-quality tea but the process is inefficient. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of mechanically harvested tea buds, the study of [...] Read more.
To date, mechanized picking of famous tea (bud, one bud one leaf) causes a lot of damage. Manual picking results in high-quality tea but the process is inefficient. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of mechanically harvested tea buds, the study of bionic picking is beneficial to reduce the damage rate of mechanical picking. In this paper, the manual flexible picking process is studied, and a bionic bladeless mechanical picking mechanics model is developed. The relationship between the mechanical properties and structural deformation of tea stalks is obtained by microstructural observation and mechanical experimental analysis and determination of the bud bionic picking mechanics flow by combined loading tests is carried out. The results show that the key factor for low damage in tea picking is the precise flexible force applied to different parts of the shoot tip during pinching, upward, and picking. The biological force of tea stalks is closely related to the stalk diameter and maturity of stalk tissue development. The larger the xylem of the tea stalk, the stronger its resistance to bending, stretching, and deformation. The stalks at the tender end of the tea are more resilient than the lower stalks and will not break under the action of large angle bending. Additionally, the stalks at the shoot tip have significantly lower pull-off force than the stalks at other places. By simulating the manual picking process, the mechanical picking mechanical parameters were determined to be a clamping pressure of 340 kPa, bending force of 0.134 N, and pull-off force of 5.1 N. These findings help the design of low-damage pickers for famous tea and provide a reference for low-damage bionic picking of tea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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11 pages, 687 KiB  
Article
Application of Mathematical Models and Thermodynamic Properties in the Drying of Jambu Leaves
by Francileni Pompeu Gomes, Osvaldo Resende, Elisabete Piancó de Sousa, Juliana Aparecida Célia and Kênia Borges de Oliveira
Agriculture 2022, 12(8), 1252; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081252 - 18 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1358
Abstract
Jambu is a vegetable originally from the northern region of Brazil, has bioactive properties, being little explored by other regions, due to its high peresivity. And one of the methods to increase the shelf life of plant products is the removal of water. [...] Read more.
Jambu is a vegetable originally from the northern region of Brazil, has bioactive properties, being little explored by other regions, due to its high peresivity. And one of the methods to increase the shelf life of plant products is the removal of water. The objective of this work was to evaluate the drying kinetics of jambu leaf mass. Two treatments were carried out: The mass of fresh jambu leaves and the mass of fresh jambu leaves with the addition of drying foam, both submitted in an oven with forced air circulation at temperatures (50, 60 and 70 °C and thickness of 1.0 cm). The proximate composition of the materials was performed before and after drying. Twelve mathematical models were tested on drying kinetics data and thermodynamic properties were calculated. The parameters of the proximate composition for the mass of leaves and foam after drying were: Moisture content of (2 to 7%), ash content of (13 to 17%), protein content of (22 to 30%), lipids of (0.6 to 4%) and total titratable acidity (0.20 to 0.28%) of tartaric acid. The models that best fit the experimental data to describe the drying kinetics of jambu masses were: Wang & Singh. The use of foam mat presented higher values of effective diffusion coefficient and activation energy and lower values of enthalpy and entropy, reducing the drying time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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11 pages, 2318 KiB  
Article
The Variation of Rice Quality and Relevant Starch Structure during Long-Term Storage
by Hao Hu, Shipeng Li, Danjie Pan, Kaijun Wang, Mingming Qiu, Zhuzhu Qiu, Xingquan Liu and Jiaojiao Zhang
Agriculture 2022, 12(8), 1211; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12081211 - 12 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1866
Abstract
The main substances of rice are starches, which vary their metabolism during storage. We conducted a series of tests including rice physicochemical properties, edible quality, starch content and chain length distribution along with starch structure variation to disclose the shift of rice quality [...] Read more.
The main substances of rice are starches, which vary their metabolism during storage. We conducted a series of tests including rice physicochemical properties, edible quality, starch content and chain length distribution along with starch structure variation to disclose the shift of rice quality by observing the changes of rice during storage. The results showed that: (1) the rice deterioration occurred as time passed, and the germination rate decreased from 70.8% to 29.4% during the storage; (2) fatty acid values increased significantly during long-term storage; (3) electrical conductivity increased as time passed; and (4) the two-year-storage rice showed significantly decreased viscosity and edible quality after sensory evaluation, decreased hardness and damaged surface area of starch granules as storage time passed. Additionally, the damaged surface area of starch granules increased with storage time. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed that the short-range order and spiral degree of rice starch first decreased in the first year and then increased over the storage time. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction showed that the main starch of rice was A-type crystalline. Meanwhile, apparent amylose content increased from 31.00% to 33.85%, then decreased to 31.75%. The peak viscosity reduced from 2735.00 mPa·s to 2163.67 mPa·s and the disintegration value was brought down from 1377.67 mPa·s to 850.33 mPa·s. Based on the results, rice should not be stored for more than 2 years under suitable granary conditions to maintain it at a good quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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18 pages, 2321 KiB  
Article
Effects of Peeling, Film Packaging, and Cold Storage on the Quality of Minimally Processed Prickly Pears (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Mill.)
by Goretti L. Díaz-Delgado, Elena M. Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Eva Dorta and M. Gloria Lobo
Agriculture 2022, 12(2), 281; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12020281 - 16 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3004
Abstract
Opuntia species exhibit beneficial properties when used to treat chronic diseases, particularly obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer; however, the presence of spines and glochids in the species’ skin that easily stick into consumers’ fingers has limited their consumption. For this study, white [...] Read more.
Opuntia species exhibit beneficial properties when used to treat chronic diseases, particularly obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer; however, the presence of spines and glochids in the species’ skin that easily stick into consumers’ fingers has limited their consumption. For this study, white and orange Opuntia ficus-indica fruits from the Canary Islands (Spain) were minimally processed, packed in a passive atmosphere, and stored at 7 °C. The effects of peeling (by hand or with an electric peeler) and two micro-perforated films (90PPlus and 180PPlus) were evaluated. Changes in the quality parameters, gas composition, bioactive compounds, sensory features, and microbial safety of fresh-cut prickly pears were examined during 10 days of cold storage. Both varieties, hand-peeled and electrically peeled, were microbiologically safe (aerobic mesophiles < 7 log(CFU/g fresh weight)) and retained suitable nutritional quality after 8 days of storage. The yield was greater when fruits were electrically peeled than hand-peeled (70.7% vs. 44.0% and 66.5% vs. 40.8% for white and orange fruits, respectively). The concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide were above 15% and below 7.5%, respectively, in all the treatments over the shelf life. TSS decreased during storage independently of variety, peeling method, or film. Fructose was the most abundant sugar, followed by glucose and sucrose. The electric peeling machine improved not only the edible part of the fruit but also the contents of bioactive compounds, such as ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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7 pages, 1066 KiB  
Opinion
Efficacy of Gas-Containing Conditioning Technology on Sterilization and Preservation of Cooked Foods
by Dan Li, Dong Liang, Zhonghua Li, Yang Liu, Zhonghua Guo, Zhicai Wu, Chunping Cao, Chunhong Zhang and Cunkun Chen
Agriculture 2022, 12(12), 2010; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12122010 - 25 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 959
Abstract
Gas-containing conditioning technology (GCT) employs mild sterilization methods to preserve the original qualities and nutrients of foods and is particularly suitable for processing various cooked foods or food ingredients. In this study, five kinds of dishes from daily life were processed with GCT. [...] Read more.
Gas-containing conditioning technology (GCT) employs mild sterilization methods to preserve the original qualities and nutrients of foods and is particularly suitable for processing various cooked foods or food ingredients. In this study, five kinds of dishes from daily life were processed with GCT. Thermal penetration detection technology was utilized to monitor the internal temperature of food and ambient temperature in real-time, and the optimal scheduled processes of each food were summarized. Additionally, foods were processed after GCT, and the total number of bacteria (<102 cfu/g) and coliform colonies (<50 MPN/100 g) were significantly reduced. Moreover, to detect the preservation effect of GCT, the processed foods were stored at 37 °C for 14 days, and the total number of colonies remained low (<10 cfu/g). These results revealed the multistage mild sterilization process, confirmed the excellent sterilization and preservation effects of GCT, and provided important experimental data for further applications of GCT in special environment foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Products Processing and Postharvest Storage)
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