The cold chain system maintains horticultural products within the desired temperature and humidity range from harvest to consumption. Fruits, vegetables, and flowers remain alive and have vital signs after harvest. The processes of respiration, evaporation, ethylene release, and other biological activities continue uninterrupted and consume organic matters, thereby degrading the quality of fresh produce and limiting its shelf life. Throughout the supply chain, the physical, chemical, and biological changes in fresh horticultural products are affected by intrinsic factors (e.g., thermal in produce, moisture diffusion, climatic and non-climatic factors) and extrinsic factors (e.g., temperature, ethylene, O2, CO2, and vibration). Losses of products are mainly due to inappropriate post-harvest handling and poor cold chain control resulting from a lack of proper logistics infrastructure and knowledge of handling perishables. Therefore, appropriate temperature control and preservation strategies from harvest to market are important to preserve the quality of horticultural products. The application of technologies in the cold chain includes pre-cooling, cold storage, refrigerated transportation, distribution, cold warehouses, and home refrigerators. To maintain the quality and safety of horticultural products in the cold chain, there is a need to establish strict guidelines for handling, storing, and transportation. Ensuring the quality of horticultural products during their journey from farm to consumer is critical to the food supply chain and is also important to consumers, regulators, the food industry, and ultimately the national economy.We welcome submissions of original research articles and reviews on the following subtopics but are not limited to: • Physiological and quality changes in fruits, vegetables, and flowers in the cold chains• Metabolites profiling in response to various stresses such as inappropriate temperature, gas concentration, relative humidity, and vibration in the cold chains• Molecular mechanisms of metabolites involved with taste, color, aroma, texture, and nutrition in horticultural products under postharvest treatments• Using multi-omics to understand physiological and biochemical processes of horticultural products in the postharvest treatment and cold chains• Plant hormones and signal transductions in response to postharvest treatments
The cold chain system maintains horticultural products within the desired temperature and humidity range from harvest to consumption. Fruits, vegetables, and flowers remain alive and have vital signs after harvest. The processes of respiration, evaporation, ethylene release, and other biological activities continue uninterrupted and consume organic matters, thereby degrading the quality of fresh produce and limiting its shelf life. Throughout the supply chain, the physical, chemical, and biological changes in fresh horticultural products are affected by intrinsic factors (e.g., thermal in produce, moisture diffusion, climatic and non-climatic factors) and extrinsic factors (e.g., temperature, ethylene, O2, CO2, and vibration). Losses of products are mainly due to inappropriate post-harvest handling and poor cold chain control resulting from a lack of proper logistics infrastructure and knowledge of handling perishables. Therefore, appropriate temperature control and preservation strategies from harvest to market are important to preserve the quality of horticultural products. The application of technologies in the cold chain includes pre-cooling, cold storage, refrigerated transportation, distribution, cold warehouses, and home refrigerators. To maintain the quality and safety of horticultural products in the cold chain, there is a need to establish strict guidelines for handling, storing, and transportation. Ensuring the quality of horticultural products during their journey from farm to consumer is critical to the food supply chain and is also important to consumers, regulators, the food industry, and ultimately the national economy.We welcome submissions of original research articles and reviews on the following subtopics but are not limited to: • Physiological and quality changes in fruits, vegetables, and flowers in the cold chains• Metabolites profiling in response to various stresses such as inappropriate temperature, gas concentration, relative humidity, and vibration in the cold chains• Molecular mechanisms of metabolites involved with taste, color, aroma, texture, and nutrition in horticultural products under postharvest treatments• Using multi-omics to understand physiological and biochemical processes of horticultural products in the postharvest treatment and cold chains• Plant hormones and signal transductions in response to postharvest treatments