An important source of nutrients for humans and animals has long been the food of plant origin. These foods provide carbohydrates needed in the diet, such as sugars, starches and fiber.
fruits also provide water, enzymes, minerals, vitamins and other compounds that are important in maintaining good health. Thus today the medical and nutrition in the diet recommended sizeable portions of fruit and vegetables in order to balance the consumption of foods of animal origin.
On the other hand, according to these water contents and characteristics of acidity, vegetables are classified as foods of different levels of perishability. The more water and having pH near neutrality are more prone to rapid deterioration, mostly because of microbiological origin.
Thus, the water content of plants varies from 12% (in cereals), to 95% (in leafy vegetables or fruits such as the pin). The pH in fruit varies from 2.5 to 4.5. In the other plant is close to neutral (6.0 -7.0).
The perishability of the fruits in part due to its water content and soluble solids represented in sugar ranging between 6 and 25% (expressed as sucrose). Improper handling or advanced degree of maturity in fruits helps microbiological contamination, but not pathogenic for the average consumer. This is due to the difficulty of developing dangerous flora in an environment of highly acidic pH is less than 4.0, compared with other foods.
regard to the amount of fruit produced in Colombia is insufficient. Each resident could consume only 34% of the minimum amount of fruit recommended by the ICBF (Colombian Family Welfare Inst.) This means that every Colombian should consume 120 kg of fruit each year to meet minimum nutritional requirements recommended, but the total production of fruit on average only allows each consume about 40 kg.
The problem is compounded by losses in 30% of this fruit cultivation, which for the most diverse reasons lies in the path of post-harvest before it reaches the final consumer.
Ante esta situación, es urgente disminuir las pérdidas para contribuir al aumento de la disponibilidad y del consumo de frutas sanas, nutritivas, agradables y en lo posible a precios accesibles por la mayoría de la población.
La disminución de estas pérdidas puede lograrse con un mejor manejo postcosecha y destinando parte de la producción a la conservación en fresco o transformación de las frutas mediante técnicas apropiadas.
Tomado de UNC
