Riccardo Massantini

The Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders for Workers due to Repetitive Movements during Tomato Harvesting

Tomatoes are the most common crop in Italy. The production cycle requires operations in the field and factory that can cause musculoskeletal disorders due to the repetitive movements of the upper limbs of the workers employed in the sorting phase. This research aims to evaluate these risks using the OCRA (occupational repetitive actions) index method This method is based firstly on the calculation of a maximum number of recommended actions, related to the way the operation is performed, and secondly on a comparison of the number of actions effectively carried out by the upper limb with the recommended calculated value. The results of the risk evaluation for workers who manually sort tomatoes during harvest showed a risk for the workers, with an exposure index greater than 20; the OCRA index defines an index higher than 3.5 as unacceptable. The present trend of replacing manual sorting onboard a vehicle with optical sorters seems to be appropriate to reduce the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and is supported from both a financial point of view and as a quality control measure.

Temperature affects impact injury on apricot fruit

Abstract Apricot fruit (cv. San Castrese) picked at commercial harvest (14° Brix) were dropped from different heights (5, 10, 20, and 30 cm) onto a flat hard and smooth surface and impact injury was evaluated visually on the skin for 3–4 days at room temperature. The flesh under the impact area turned brown after 3 days in the fruit dropped from 30 cm, but no symptoms were observed on the peel. Ethylene started to rise after 12 h; even sound area on the opposite side produced more ethylene 6 h later. The effect of temperature at the impact time and after the impact was studied. Fruit were impacted at 18 °C and then placed at 4 °C or kept at 18 °C, or dropped at 4 °C and then kept at 4 °C or moved to 18 °C. Ethylene production was greatly affected by low temperature. Ethylene increased more in fruit which were impacted at 4 °C and moved to 18 °C, than in fruit which were kept continuously at 18 °C. Respiration was affected by temperature but not as greatly as ethylene production. L (lightness) and b (yellowness) values decreased significantly in the injured flesh compared to the sound flesh especially in fruit impacted at 4 °C and then moved to 18 °C. Good management of temperature can reduce the physiological response of the tissue to bruising and control the appearance of bruising symptoms.

Influence of impact surface and temperature on the ripening response of kiwifruit

Abstract Kiwifruit ( Actinidia deliciosa ) at a typical harvesting stage were subjected to a drop height of 30 cm onto a steel plate (impact injury), and to abrasion injury by being drawn under pressure across a piece of packing-case wood. Reactions in terms of soluble solids content (SSC) and deformation measurements of flesh and core tissue, were assessed. Impact caused greater increases in SSC and deformation than abrasion, but both were greater than controls. More detailed impact tests involved comparisons of smooth steel plate with fine (280 mesh) and coarse (100 mesh) sandpaper surfaces, again measuring SSC, deformation and ethylene production. Fine sandpaper generally produced greater increases compared with steel than did coarse paper. Chilling to 4 °C either on impact or during storage reduced increases in SSC and deformation responses. It is concluded that careless handling and rough surfaces in packing materials should be avoided, but prompt cooling will delay the onset of deterioration resulting from mechanical damage.

Review: Recent Advances in the Use of Non-Destructive near Infrared Spectroscopy for Intact Olive Fruits:

The objective of this review is to illustrate the state of the art in the use of non-destructive near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for quality evaluation of intact fruit in the olive industry. First, the most recent studies regarding the application of non-destructive NIR spectroscopy methods for the assessment of external olive quality are reviewed. External defects including mechanical damage, bruising, ground origin and insect infestation, and the consequences of these defects for finished products are reported. Second, research regarding chemical parameters of olive fruits is reviewed; in particular, the use of portable instruments to measure quality parameters such as moisture, oil and phenolic content while the fruit is on the tree, with the goal of monitoring the trends in these parameters during olive development. Finally, research on intact olive authenticity, an important aspect for legal and economic reasons, is reviewed. As most studies cited indicate the feasibility of NIR spectroscopy for non-destructive evaluation of many quality parameters, this review stresses the urgent need for technology transfer to olive facilities to enhance product quality while reducing production costs.

Antioxidants in Hazelnuts ( Corylus avellana L.)

Publisher Summary This chapter profiles the potential usage of hazelnuts in human heath and nutrition. Hazelnuts contain a series of antioxidants that may cooperate in concert, providing the body with potential help in hindering the free radical threat, thus improving human well-being by countering the initiation and progression of oxidative stress-mediated disorders and diseases. They are well known and appreciated for their organoleptic properties; in addition, they are very nutritious and healthful because of their favorable composition of nutrients and nutraceutical compounds. Though not an antioxidant itself, it has an essential role in constructing the endogenous antioxidant defense system, protecting the human body against oxidative disorders and diseases, including cancer. The hazelnut skin by-product, being remarkably rich in phenolics, is proposed as an excellent source of natural and powerful antioxidants. Due to their richness in nutrients and bioactive health-promoting compounds, there are good reasons for profitably including hazelnuts as part of a nutritious and functional diet. Studies on the composition and in vitro antioxidant activity of hazelnut phenolics are intensifying because of the great interest of the scientific community in their potential beneficial effects. However, more research is needed to fully identify and characterize hazelnut phenolics and to evaluate their bioavailability.

Postharvest Monitoring of Organic Potato (CV. Anuschka) During Hot-Air Drying Using Vis/Nir Hyperspectral Imaging

BACKGROUND The potential of hyperspectral imaging (500-1010 nm) was evaluated for monitoring of the quality of potato slices (var. Anuschka) of 5, 7 and 9 mm thickness subjected to air drying at 50 °C. The study investigated three different feature selection methods for the prediction of dry basis moisture content and colour of potato slices using partial least squares regression (PLS). RESULTS The feature selection strategies tested include interval PLS regression (iPLS), and differences and ratios between raw reflectance values for each possible pair of wavelengths (R[λ1 ]-R[λ2 ] and R[λ1 ]:R[λ2 ], respectively). Moreover, the combination of spectral and spatial domains was tested. Excellent results were obtained using the iPLS algorithm. However, features from both datasets of raw reflectance differences and ratios represent suitable alternatives for development of low-complex prediction models. Finally, the dry basis moisture content was high accurately predicted by combining spectral data (i.e. R[511 nm]-R[994 nm]) and spatial domain (i.e. relative area shrinkage of slice). CONCLUSIONS Modelling the data acquired during drying through hyperspectral imaging can provide useful information concerning the chemical and physicochemical changes of the product. With all this information, the proposed approach lays the foundations for a more efficient smart dryer that can be designed and its process optimized for drying of potato slices.

Effects of hot-water and steam blanching of sliced potato on polyphenol oxidase activity

The worldwide potato production is considered the fourth-most important food sector due to the increasing use of potatoes as raw materials for high-convenience food. Colour is a crucial quality attribute in fresh-cut potatoes, and enzymatic browning, due to polyphenols oxidase (PPO), is related to unacceptability by consumer. Among additives used to minimize discoloration, sulphites are very common, but affected by health-related hazards and marketing issues. Viable alternatives are thermal treatments, used to inactivate enzymes and improve product shelf-life. In this study, the efficacy of hot-water and steam blanching from 80 to 90°C, used to inactivate PPO in 1-cm potato slices, was evaluated in terms of inactivation kinetic, substrate specificity and transition state parameters. In general, all treatments inactivated PPO and reduced its kinetic efficiency. In detail, results from thermal inactivation kinetic promoted hot-water blanching at 90°C for approx. 2 min as the fastest treatment to obtain colour-stable potato slices.

Detection of pits and pit fragments in fresh cherries using near infrared spectroscopy

Near infrared spectroscopy in the wavelength region from 800 to 2600 nm was evaluated as the basis for a rapid, nondestructive method for the detection of pits and pit fragments in fresh cherries. Partial least squares discriminant analysis following various spectral pretreatments was applied to spectra of cherries with either no pit, a whole pit, a half pit, or a quarter pit to test various classification schemes. An iterative algorithm tested all combinations of pretreatments and parameters as input to the partial least squares discriminant analysis. In addition, a step forward feature selection algorithm was used to identify the most significant wavebands in order to isolate small sets (<10) of spectral bands that represent the entire spectra. The highest accuracy was achieved for a binary model in which the samples were combined into only two classes (no pit versus whole pit + half pit + quarter pit) using all features (reflection at each wavelength) with no false positive error, 4% false negative error, and 98% overall accuracy. Overall accuracy of the same model was reduced only slightly to 96% when employing only the four most significant features. Accuracy declined when models attempted to separate the classes of fragments, with the lowest being 92, 83, 86, and 99% accuracy, respectively, in discriminating no pit, quarter pit, half pit, and whole pit classes separately. The high accuracy achieved under the binary model using only four features indicates that reflection of light at specific near infrared wavelengths is a suitable basis for high-speed, nondestructive detection of pits and pit fragments in cherries.

Quality maintenance of fennels as fresh cut products

Fennel production in Italy is quite large, especially in Central Italy. Fennel can be eaten cooked or as a fresh vegetable. In the latter case, it is available at a retail market also as a minimally processed product. Freshness, nutritional content, and sensorial aspects like visual quality and taste, represent the main important characteristics.The aim of our research was to give suggestions on prolonging the shelf life of fennel as a ready to eat vegetable. Sliced fennel was placed in trays packaged with two different polyester films (MAP), sliced fennel packed in perforated film served as control, and kept at 4°C (RH 85%) for 9 days; respiration rate, weight loss and colour changes were evaluated. Panel tests were also carried out.Wound-induced stress due to peeling, cutting and slicing affected a lot of the physiological responses like respiration rate, ethylene production, enzymatic browning and dehydratation. We particularly noted that weight loss of fresh cut fennel kept in perforated film was about 18% and 3% after 9 days at 20°C and 4°C respectively and respiration rate was 40 mg kg -1 h -1 and 24 mg kg -1 h -1 of CO 2 . After cold storage, fennel stored in modified atmosphere packaging showed good quality attributes, no weight loss and we did not detect any off flavour.