Patrick E. Cortbaoui, Michael O. Ngadi, Leroy E. Philip Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Novel Approaches To Mapping Postharvest Quality Loss Of Fresh

Produce For Improved Food Security In CARICOM Countries

Hunger

Malnutrition

Population growth

Finite resources Sustainable food system

Food nutrition Food availability

Chronic diseases

Food security Obesity

Poverty

Livelihood implications

Food loss

Food quantity

Food quality

Food safety

Environmental degradation

There is a need for…

A PARADIGM SHIFT

WHY?

STATISTICS ARE ALARMING !! • 870 million people undernourished • 1 billion people overweight and obese • 9.6 billion people in 2050 • 1.3 billion tons food lost annually • 1.7 million deaths from limited FFV intake • 1.4 billion people living in less 1$/day • 1.5 billion people dependent on degrading land to live

CARIBBEAN FOOD SECURITY: A COMPLEX CHALLENGE • Limited food availability • Limited food diversity • Limited intake of Fruits & Vegetables

Inefficient post-harvest management practices of fresh fruits and vegetables

HIGHER LOSS & LOWER QUALITY

Is there a solution? YES

REDUCING POST-HARVEST LOSSES

ROBUST, CONSISTENT AND INNOVATIVE METHODS FOR MEASURING THE EXTENT OF FOOD QUALITY LOSS

ARE A NECESSARY FIRST STEP TOWARD REACHING THE GOAL OF

REDUCING POST-HARVEST LOSSES

ONGOING PROJECT

Mapping postharvest losses of fresh produce along the supply chain using novel approaches Case study: CARICOM countries (Guyana & St. Kitts)

RATIONALE • Complexity of PHL concept • No reliable data on PHL • No comprehensive and

holistic method to measure PHL of fresh produce

CURRENT METHODS TO MEASURE PHL

• Relied mostly on household or farmers’ surveys • Gravimetric methods; known also as count and weight • Visual scales or scale ratings; losses known as “visloss” • Very few holistic methods to measure PHL, but negligible • Simulation methods are important, but not sufficient alone

The current literature does not offer integrated and reliable approaches for evaluating post-harvest losses of fresh produce

WHAT & HOW TO DO?

ACTION METHOD

Assessment and quantification of PHL in CARICOM

Surveys and direct measurements in the field

Investigation of the effect of fluctuated environmental factors on quality changes

Laboratory simulation and kinetic prediction models

Enabling the identification of optimal condition to reduce PHL

Taguchi approach

Surveys and direct measurements in the field

Fresh produce supply chain map and handling activities in Guyana

Post-harvest losses map for tomato and string beans in St. Kitts

THE RESULTS FROM THIS INTERVENTION REVEALED THAT

POST-HARVEST LOSSES WERE MAINLY DUE TO INAPPROPRIATE

QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS’ ABUSE

AMONG FARMERS, WHOLESALERS AND RETAILERS

Laboratory simulation and kinetic prediction models

Scenario for Guyana Scenario for St. Kitts

No application of Taguchi approach to post-harvest quality loss has been reported until the present time

TAGUCHI APPROACH Scope of usage: To date Taguchi approach has been widely and successfully used in various subject areas such as: aerospace, sports, communications, environment, construction, energy, materials manufacturing, milling, welding, mechanical

engineering, food processing and dental science Purpose of usage: To determine the optimum parameters of a process to minimize the quality loss of a product

• A robust quality management method • An approach that involves the combination of engineering and

statistical methods to reduce commodity loss and improve its quality

• Taguchi was able to quantify quality loss as a deviation from the ideal target

TAGUCHI APPROACH

Variability

Conventional statistical experimental design can determine the optimal condition of a process based on the measured

values of the characteristic properties of the food commodity, whereas Taguchi method can determine the experimental condition having the least variability as the

“optimal condition”

TAGUCHI APPROACH

Novel Technique To Optimize Environmental Conditions Throughout Post-harvest Handling Process Of Fresh

Fruits And Vegetables To Curtail Quality Loss

THIS KIND OF STUDY IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL, ALLOWING THE CLOSING OF MAJOR DATA

GAPS IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF MEASURING POST-HARVEST LOSSES OF FRESH

PRODUCE AND THE PREDICTION OF THE OUTCOME OF DIFFERENT STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION CONDITIONS, AIMING TO

IMPROVE THE PRODUCT’S QUALITY AND

SUPPLY CHAIN SETTINGS

KEY MESSAGES ENHANCING POST-HARVEST QUALITY MANAGEMENT

ALONG ALL SEGMENTS OF THE VALUE CHAIN, AS THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT MOVES FROM FARM TO CONSUMER, WILL

DEFINITELY LEAD TO INCREASE FOOD AVAILABILITY FOR LOCAL HOUSEHOLDS

REDUCING POST-HARVEST LOSSES WILL POSITIVELY AFFECT LIVELIHOOD BY ALLEVIATING FOOD

INSECURITY, GENERATING INCOME AND ENHANCING HUMAN HEALTH

THE INFORMATION GENERATED IN THIS STUDY SHOULD HELP

STAKEHOLDERS MAKE BETTER DECISIONS REGARDING THE

CONTROL OR REDUCTION OF POST-HARVEST QUALITY LOSS OF FRESH

PRODUCE

FINAL REMARK

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • Funding for this project was provided by The Canadian International Food

Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) which is a program of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD).

• Our full gratitude goes to Dr. O. Homenauth and all staff of NAREI, Guyana. • Our full gratitude goes also to the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine

Resources, St. Kitts and Nevis with special thanks to Mrs. Ilis Watts and Mr. Ray Guishard.

• A special thanks goes to the staff in the School Meals Centre in St. Kitts and Nevis for facilitating the study.

• We also acknowledge the assistance and support of the farmers, distributors,

and retailers in Guyana and St. Kitts and Nevis.

THANK YOU