Activities

(see additional information field)

Additional information

The symptoms:

The symptoms of this browning are quite different from the long-known fruit russeting. Fruit russeting (dark rust-coloured spots) appears before harvest and does not change after harvest. The browning may happen after harvest in different sizes and intensity.

Causes:

Harvesting, transporting or processing can easily lead to injuries/cracks in the shell of the asparagus. During the processing water can enter the tissue via those injuries and cause glassy bodies which then gradually turn brown.

Risk factors that promote the occurrence of browning:

* Injuries in the shell

* Long lasting exposure to water or washing with extremely high water pressure

* Storage with core temperatures above 2-3 ° C

* Inadequate shock cooling after the harvest

* Permanent water film on the asparagus during storage

Practical recommendations:

* Avoid injuries during harvest, transport or processing.

* Cool the asparagus quickly after harvest to a core temperature of 2 ° C.

* Keep this low temperature in the refrigerator during the entire storage period.

* Regularly check whether there is sufficient effect of the shock-cooling and if the air temperature in the refrigerator is correct.

* Dry the outside of the asparagus before cooling it. (This increases the chance that also the glassy bodies dry during this process and do not turn brown later on.)

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