The impact of biological variation on postharvest population dynamics

This paper outlines a mathematical approach to the interpretation of postharvest batch behaviour based on the underlying processes occurring at the level of the individual food items and on the amount of biological variation present. This technique opens the door to a mechanistic interpretation of postharvest batch behaviour, both qualitative and quantitative, enabling the postharvest industries to improve their control of the quality of their produce throughout the postharvest chain. The generic approach is outlined and applied to case studies on shrivelling of 'Braeburn' apples, the colour change of 'Hass' avocados and stress crack development in corn grains. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.