Reducing post-harvest losses and improving quality in sweet corn (Zea mays L.): challenges and solutions for less food waste and improved food security

Abstract

Demand for fresh-cut fruit and vegetables is increasing, in the face of global population growth and increasing interest in plant-based diets. At the same time, year-round supply across the world of popular vegetables means that post-harvest losses, which can be significant, need to be minimized in the face of complex global supply chains and markets. Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) is harvested before physiological maturity when the kernel has high water and sugar concentrations making it a very perishable fresh produce and effective post-harvest handling essential to reduce losses and ensure quality. Taste, aroma and colour are the main customer-appreciatedharacteristics, hence the most important to preserve. Among the sweet corn post-harvest disorders, loss of sweetness, dehydration, fungal growth, and post-cooking browning are the biggest issues impacting sweet corn quality, leading to post-harvest losses. The main factor driving these losses in sweet corn is temperature. Sweet corn is not a chilling sensitive product and has high sugar content. For this reason, temperatures as close as 0 °C and the appropriate use of packaging films to create an altered gas composition with high CO2 and low O2 concentrations can significantly prevent post-harvest decay. The use of low temperatures and effective choice of appropriate packaging films can control sweet corn respiration rates and prevent microorganism growth, subsequently delaying quality loss. This comprehensive review assembles a description of the most customer-appreciated sweet corn characteristics, it describes the major sweet corn post-harvest challenges and provides a summary of four approaches to improve post-harvest quality in this popular fresh-cut vegetable.

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ORCID for Felipe Becerra Sanchez: orcid.org/0000-0003-2178-3967

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