Sensitivity analysis of heat and mass transfer characteristics during forced‐air cooling process of peaches on different air‐inflow velocities

Abstract

A suitable low temperature environment, throughout the entire postharvest cold chain, is of great importance to maintain a high level of fruits and vegetables quality, and to extend their shelf life. Delays in cooling for over two hours promote quality deterioration and reduces their marketability, ascribing to the fact that the certain amount of field heat contained in freshly harvested fruits causes the fruits with high softening rate and respiration rate, especially for perishable commodities, such as peaches and