Handling and preservation of fruits and vegetables by combined methods for rural areas

Contains information on post-harvest handling and marketing operations and storage of fresh and processed products. Highlights technology which, when combined, has a positive and synergistic effect in preventing biochemical and physicochemical reactions and microbial growth - the main causes of quality losses in fruits and vegetables. Suggested methodologies combine technologies such as mild heat treatment, water activity reduction, lowering of the pH and use of anti-microbial substances to realize the potential of minimally processed, high-moisture fruit products. These relatively new technologies have been successfully applied to several important tropical and non-tropical fruits in different countries of Latin America.