Real-Time Monitoring System for Shelf Life Estimation of Fruit and Vegetables

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Agricultural Engineering
• Postharvest Technology

Background:

• Controlling environmental factors like temperature, humidity, and gas concentrations is crucial for perishable product quality.
• Maintaining postharvest quality of horticultural products requires careful monitoring of these factors throughout the supply chain.
• Real-time monitoring systems are essential for assuring quality and evaluating losses during storage and transportation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and test a real-time monitoring system for perishable products.
• To establish quality-rating scales for produce under varying storage temperatures.
• To create a predictive model for shelf-life reduction based on temperature deviations.

Main Methods:

• Developed a Wi-Fi enabled, sensor-based real-time monitoring system.
• Conducted laboratory trials using lettuce as a model to determine quality-rating scales.
• Utilized multiple non-linear regression (MNLR) to model the relationship between temperature and shelf life.

Main Results:

• A functional real-time monitoring system with Wi-Fi communication was developed and tested.
• Quality-rating scales were determined for lettuce under different storage temperatures.
• An MNLR model was proposed to predict shelf-life reduction based on temperature.

Conclusions:

• The developed system effectively monitors environmental factors influencing perishable product quality.
• The MNLR model provides a tool to predict shelf-life loss due to improper storage temperatures.
• The system and model are valuable for optimizing storage, transportation, and reducing food waste.