Abstract
Wastage in Imported Fruit.—Two special Reports of the Food Investigation Board, No. 38, by Dr. J. Barker, and No. 39, also by Dr. J. Barker and dealing with New Zealand apples (London: H.M. Stationery Office, Is. 6d. and 6d. respectively), together with Bulletin No. 23 from the New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, in which Mr. L. W. Tillar deals with the relation of storage temperature to the overseas carriage of apples, show that investigation is now actively proceeding into the many important scientific problems associated with the marketing of overseas fruit. Since 1926, with the cooperation of the Food Investigation Board, a small laboratory has been maintained near Covent Garden Market, and most of the data utilised by Dr. Barker in his more general report have been obtained through the opportunities thus provided for studying wastage, through the cordial co-operation of the Covent Garden salesmen. The problems are now seen to be many and various, but in many cases there seems to be clear indication as to the lines to follow for practical success. Thus, the condition of the fruit when gathered is seen to be of prime importance; ‘bitterpit’ in apples, for example—on which subject a valuable paper by W. H. Carne, H. A. Pittman, and H. G. Elliot was presented at the Imperial Horticultural Conference can be practically avoided if the apple is picked at the rightly mature stage. New Zealand shipping experience shows the importance of prompt reduction of the temperature in the ship’s hold; whilst South African experience has shown how wastage can be reduced by care and inspection during picking, the use of refrigerated trucks for long-distance rail transport, and improvement of the refrigeration systems on board ship. We are still ignorant often of the best temperature at which to maintain the fruit during transit and before sale. Also, in many cases, simple precautions such as tight packing, to avoid bruising in transit, are essential preliminaries to refinements as to temperature, ventilation, and humidity controls. The reports referred to, however, are ample evidence of the progress that has been made and of the necessity for further experimental investigation in a co-operation which extends from the orchard overseas to the retail counter at home.
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Research Items. Nature 126, 737–739 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/126737a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/126737a0