Precooling of Citrus Fruits

To introduce the subject of precooling it would probably be well to define precooling. As used in most cases precooling means the rapid cooling during or as soon after processing as possible. This is done in order to remove not only the field heat but to reduce the fruit temperature in order to reduce respiration. In addition to previous reasons, precooling will lower the temperature of fruit loaded into cars, consequently reducing the refrigeration load on the car. The end effect of precooling is to provide the customer with better fruit and as a consequence to increase sales.

Paper published with permission.