Quality attributes generally considered by consumers in their selection and purchase of most fruits include: appearance, taste, smell, nutritional value, and absence of defects. Raspberries are extremely sensitive to handling and fungal attack, and thus it requires careful handling, harvesting, storage, and transportation.
Raspberries for long-distance shipping should be picked at the pink to light red stages, while fresh market berries can be picked at the red to dark red stages.
At the processing plant, the fruit is washed with gentle sprays of water and drained on a metal mesh belt.
If the product is to be handled in the fresh state, it is placed in small, retail sized baskets usually with cellophane over wrap. Optimum storage conditions are 32 degrees F with 90 percent relative humidity. In this condition, the fruit has a storage life only 5 – 7 days.
Storage for raspberries
