Microbial spoilage of vegetables, fruits and cereals

Abstract

Plant based foods are in high demand because nutritional epidemiology has linked them to improve wellbeing and longevity. Spoilage of plant commodities routinely occurs all over the world due to various factors leading to significant wastage. Factors that contribute to and influence spoilage of fruits, vegetables and cereals including environmental factors such as pH, temperature and oxygen, as well as other factors such as some consumer attitudes have been elucidated by several studies and are summarized herein. This review also discusses some of the sources and routes of spoilage microorganisms to plant produce such as cultivation input and post-harvest practices. Furthermore, the mechanisms of fruits, vegetables and cereals spoilage are explored. Management and control of spoilage including alternative uses for overly ripen or otherwise surplus produce such as for the development of nutritious food products, as animal feed and other biotechnological applications like bioremediation are also discussed. Overall, it is important to manage microbial spoilage and optimize produce cultivation-supply chains all around the world to mitigate the associated environmental, nutritional and food security/safety impacts.