Article: Characterising the sweet corn postharvest supply chain: travel from Senegal to the UK Journal: International Journal of Postharvest Technology and Innovation (IJPTI) 2021 Vol.8 No.1 pp.1 - 18 Abstract: Sweet corn (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) is a grain harvested before maturity and consumed as a vegetable. An optimal supply chain, to preserve sugars and antioxidant (AO) capacity is essential to maintain quality of sweet corn. The choice of packaging film plays an essential role, especially in products with a high respiration rate such as sweet corn. Sweet corn grown on a commercial farm in Senegal was sampled at the harvest day, at the UK arrival date following 12-14 d of shipping (packaging date), at the best before date (BBD) and five days after the best before date. The results showed that high quality preservation of sweet corn is possible along a complex supply chain from harvest in Senegal through transport to the UK. Results suggested that lower perforation films have a beneficial role in preserving antioxidant capacity. Furthermore, damaged kernels in the cut-ends of the cobs were shown to be the main factor reducing the overall quality of the product. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Characterising the sweet corn postharvest supply chain: travel from Senegal to the UK

Authors: Felipe Becerra-Sanchez; Gail Taylor

Addresses: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA; School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, SO17 1BJ, Southampton, UK ' Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA; School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, SO17 1BJ, Southampton, UK

Abstract: Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) is a grain harvested before maturity and consumed as a vegetable. An optimal supply chain, to preserve sugars and antioxidant (AO) capacity is essential to maintain quality of sweet corn. The choice of packaging film plays an essential role, especially in products with a high respiration rate such as sweet corn. Sweet corn grown on a commercial farm in Senegal was sampled at the harvest day, at the UK arrival date following 12-14 d of shipping (packaging date), at the best before date (BBD) and five days after the best before date. The results showed that high quality preservation of sweet corn is possible along a complex supply chain from harvest in Senegal through transport to the UK. Results suggested that lower perforation films have a beneficial role in preserving antioxidant capacity. Furthermore, damaged kernels in the cut-ends of the cobs were shown to be the main factor reducing the overall quality of the product.

Keywords: sweet corn; maize; postharvest; shelf life; packaging; films; sugars; starch; antioxidant; peroxidase; POD; polyphenol oxidase; PPO; damage; Senegal; UK.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPTI.2021.116076

International Journal of Postharvest Technology and Innovation, 2021 Vol.8 No.1, pp.1 - 18

Received: 24 Jun 2020
Accepted: 02 Oct 2020
Published online: 08 Jul 2021 *

Title: Characterising the sweet corn postharvest supply chain: travel from Senegal to the UK

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