نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 مرکز تحقیقات و آمورش کشاورزی خراسان رضوی - صنایع غذایی
2 دانشجوی دکتری، دانشکده مهندسی صنایع، دانشگاه علم و صنعت ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Jujube, as one of the most important horticultural and medicinal plants in arid and semi-arid regions, possesses high nutritional and functional potential. However, the structure of its value chain in Iran is largely dependent on the sale of raw products, with limited technological integration in postharvest and processing stages. A considerable portion of the economic loss of this product stems from biological mechanisms of quality deterioration, including moisture loss, increased respiration rate, tissue softening, oxidative stress, enzymatic browning, and microbial spoilage during the post-harvest period. The present study, adopting a review-analytical approach, examines the role of post-harvest and processing technologies within the framework of upgrading the jujube value chain. In this framework, upgrading is analyzed at three levels—process, product, and functional—and its relationship with technological interventions is elucidated. The findings indicate that temperature management, modified atmosphere packaging, edible coatings, physiological treatments, non-thermal technologies, and chemical treatments can achieve process upgrading by reducing losses by 20–40% and significantly extending shelf life. This quality improvement provides the necessary foundation for the development of processed products such as dried jujube, powder, extracts, and fermented products, thereby creating the basis for product and functional upgrading. Based on the findings of this study, the post-harvest stage is identified as a leverage point for value chain upgrading. Targeted investment in cold storage infrastructure, development of novel packaging, and support for processing industries can increase the domestic value-added share, reduce dependence on raw sales, and enhance the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the jujube value chain.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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