Impact of shocks and vibrations on strawberry quality in the supply chain, according to packaging

During road transport, strawberries are subject to two types of mechanical stress: shocks, mainly during load breaking and handling operations, and vibrations in the truck. The aims of this study were to evaluate the influence of these stresses on strawberry quality and to identify adapted packaging to limit fruit losses. Shocks and vibrations were recorded on 8 representative supply chains of long-distance strawberry transport in France. These data were then synthesized and used in simulators to reproduce the pattern in the laboratory in order to monitor fruit quality evolution, using a deterioration index. Replicated shocks to 'Gariguette' strawberries, under punnet packaging conditions, established damage limits of 18 G or 6 ms immediately after the shock. Thus, below the damage limit, 31% of the fruit was bruised after the shock, but 69% was damaged two days later. Under conditions of packaging in a single row in a mini-tray, fruit quality was better preserved with only 3% of fruits bruised immediately after the shock and 19% two days later. Two simulation vibration routes, of moderate and severe roughness, were applied to 3 strawberry batches and 4 types of packaging (single-row mini-trays, punnets of 250 g placed in crates made of wood, plastic or cardboard).Vibration damage was clearly visible after 24 h at 5 degrees C and depended on the sensitivity of the strawberry batch, the roughness of the route, and the package material (strawberries in plastic crates were damaged more than those in mini-trays, wooden and cardboard crates). The vibration amplification coefficient of plastic crates, between the bottom and the top of the pallet, was at least 4 times higher than the other materials. However, the results concerning the impact on the quality of the strawberries placed on the top of the pallet have not been included.