The Effect of Storage Conditions on Physio Chemical Properties of Potatoes and Apples

Abstract

The reduction of poverty and hunger stands as a paramount concern for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Pakistan’s current population has been recorded to be 212 million while the prediction shows an expected growth of 250 million in 2030.Developing countries like Pakistan also face substantial post-harvest losses due to inadequate storage systems, within a range of 35% to 40% which puts a needs for sustainable food supply system. This global issue not only suppresses the economy but also puts a pressure on the availability of food for the population. To cater such issues a special controlled atmospheric system has been designed, integrated with a sensor by Ministry of agriculture and forestry, Türkiye. The sensor monitors the daily amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide, temperature, relative humidity, pressure and the data is available on a mobile application named FreshSens.This data helps in monitoring the internal environment of the controlled atmospheric boxes, enabling the user to determine optimal storage duration of various commodities. Research has been carried out on golden delicious apples and vogue potatoes for a time period of 5 months stored in this specially designed CAB. Four such CAB have been employed for this research by allocating two CAB for each apples and potatoes with distinct membrane openings to regulate the inner environment. The membranes help to control the inner environment of the storage box. Physiochemical analysis revealed that the traditional time period of storage of golden delicious of 90 days exceeded in our system to 150 days. Likewise the storage duration of vogue potatoes, typically ranging in 2-4 months extended to a duration of five months without any effects on nutritional properties and the overall texture and firmness. Furthermore comparative data from physicochemical analysis helped to finalize the optimal storage condition for each stored commodity. The study concludes that the CAB with minimum membrane openings provides a long term storage as it minimizes weight loss.