ABSTRACT
Recent events such as natural hazards, diet trends, and the COVID-19 pandemic have shed light on several inefficiencies of the traditional fresh fruit and vegetable (FFV) supply chain (SC). Factors that contribute to this problem are the lack of coordination of the SC participants, the inaccessibility of planning tools for agricultural production, and the absence of market information to determine if a product will have a demand. Intelligent SCs are emerging to address some of these issues by using data-driven tools to aid in decision-making. Nonetheless, there has been little work to incorporate market intelligence in the new SC model to solve the lack of market information in the traditional model. It is essential to include market intelligence in the new SC model to decrease food waste, reduce losses related to low market prices and demands, and avoid scarcity events in which food availability and affordability decrease, while aiding small growers by alerting them of potential market opportunities. This work aims to develop a market intelligence framework for the FFV SC and incorporate it into the intelligent SC. A layered system approach is used with the goal of collecting relevant data to monitor and diagnose the market's state and provide recommendations to the SC participants. The layered system framework aims to decompose the overall problem into several layers with distinct goals such as data collection, processing, monitoring, diagnostics, among others. This work will focus on the monitoring aspect of the system. © 2022 IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2022. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Fresh fruits and vegetables carry a heavy load of microorganisms which may cause the risks of food-borne illness to the consumer. Even after washing with water, there is a need for sanitization and disinfection to drop down a load of harmful microbes under the safe limit. Sanitizers and disinfectants are not only cost-effective but also nonhazardous and eco-friendly. Moreover, they should not hamper the organoleptic and nutritional properties of fresh produce. With rising demand for safe, nutritious, and fresh fruits and vegetables, many new disinfectants and treatments are commercially available. During this COVID-19 outbreak, knowledge of sanitizers and disinfectants for fresh fruits and vegetables is very important. This review focuses on working principles, applications, and related legislation of physical and chemical disinfection technologies (chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone, organic acids, electrolyzed water, irradiation, ultrasound etc.) and their effectiveness for shelf-life extension of fresh produce. Novelty impact statement: This review article gives comprehensive information about potential sanitizers and disinfectants for fresh produce discussing their mechanisms and relevant legislation in one place. The article will help the readers to opt for the suitable method for disinfecting fresh produce and also will provide a reference to use these methods within permissible limits as per legislation. Such information is very much relevant in the present Covid-19 pandemic scenario. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.