- Non-perishable (durable): Represents the agricultural products which have undergone treatment process preservation and processing.
– The process of blanching, which is then followed by the brining freezing or sterilization process.
– Salting process.
– The fermentation process instance sauerkraut, pickles dll.- radiation process.
– Chemical preservation process.
– The process of curing.
– The process of canning with sugar (sweets).
– The process of drying with the sun or dryer. - Semi perishable (rather quickly broken): Although fresh harvested without treatment process preservation and processing, but has a relatively long resistance to damage, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples calloused, coconut fruit skin condition is not susceptible to mechanical damage.
- Perishable (perishable): Almost all fruits and vegetable products including perishable groups ie fruits and vegetables that are easily damaged.
The characteristics of perishable fruits and vegetables group:
– A high content of nutrients
– High water levels
– voluminous
– The texture is soft, susceptible to mechanical damage.
– Relatively hot tropical climate, so that the respiration and high post-harvest enzymatic processes (accelerating senescence).
– Shrinkage of high weights.
– Shrinkage of high quality due to microbial contamination, mechanical damage, senescence. Cause nutrient value drops, appearance, taste and texture low.
Sooner or not a food is damaged, usually strongly influenced by the water content contained in the food material. The higher the water content, the faster damage. Foodstuffs that have an influence on the nervous tension, caused by the presence of alkaloids or polyphenol compounds such as thein, caffeine, and others. Vegetables and fresh fruits have high water content (> 70%).
This condition will affect the speed of enzymatic activity, and can be a good microbial growth media. Contamination with microbes will accelerate the deterioration process, especially when the environmental conditions are not controlled or stored at a low temperature space or at low humidity. In grains or other foods that have a low water content will generally slow damage.
For fresh animal food, will quickly be damaged because they contain chemical components (particularly those found in the blood of animals such as hemoglobin) was very good for the growth of microbes.