New post-harvest technology could double the storage life of cauliflowers and open up exciting new markets for the Western Australia produce.

The technology, developed by CSIRO Plant Industry and tested in conjunction with the Western Australia Department of Agriculture and the Warren Cauliflower Group, will be trialled next week on a shipment of cauliflowers to Singapore.

“The post-harvest technology allows for storage of cauliflowers to be extended from 14 days currently to about 30 days,” says CSIRO Plant Industry project leader Dr Mark Gibberd.

“Earlier experimental trials showed quality was also maintained when the cauliflowers were removed from storage, adding to the effectiveness of the technology.”

Department research officer Rachel Lancaster said if the project was successful, the potential existed to export cauliflowers by ship to more distant markets such as the Middle East

“At present, 95 per cent of Western Australia’s cauliflower exports are shipped to Singapore and Malaysia because of the proximity of the markets. Shipment takes about six days,” she said.

Ms Lancaster said substantial testing of the post-harvest technology, had been conducted over the past three years in at CSIRO Plant Industry’s Merbein laboratories in Victoria. 

“A small scale test was conducted earlier this year in May at the Department’s Manjimup Horticultural Research Institute with encouraging results,” she said.

“The cauliflowers were in storage for 29 days and when removed, were of good quality.

“The next stage is to assess the shipment of cauliflowers to Singapore in a refrigerated container.

“Some cauliflowers in the test shipment will have been in storage using the new technology for 29 days and will be compared to cauliflowers in the same shipment which have been stored for less time.”

Ms Lancaster and Dr Gibberd will travel to Singapore to meet the container on arrival and assess the quality of the cauliflowers after shipping.

Fact sheet: http://www.csiro.au/index.asp?type=faq&id=Cauliflower&stylesheet=divisionFaq

Backgrounder (from CSIRO Plant Industry e-newsletter Issue 1 Autumn 2003)

High humidity and cool temperatures are critical to keeping cauliflowers in peak condition for export to Asian markets, according to CSIRO Plant Industry postharvest researcher Dr Mark Gibberd.

Product condition during and after transport determines value and shelf life, and exporters naturally want to maximise both. This has been an ongoing issue for Western Australian cauliflowers, which sometimes face a two week sea voyage and losses of up to 20% in both produce and profits.

Dr Gibberd has developed a prototype system for transporting cauliflowers to preserve their freshness and visual appearance, largely determined by the postharvest loss of moisture.

Dr Gibberd's solution is to manage the water vapour content of the atmosphere around the cauliflowers using a new type of liner, which can be placed inside any standard fibreboard or polystyrene box. The liner keeps humidity high and reduces moisture loss - and also prevents moisture condensing on the produce. Free water is a major problem because it provides somewhere for pathogens such as bacteria to grow.

The system has potential to increase the value of Australia’s Asian cauliflower exports, worth around $23 million dollars a year.

Trials carried out with table grapes are equally impressive. Many horticultural industries could benefit from this technology and collaboration is underway with a commercial packaging company to examine manufacturing options for the liner.

This is a joint project supported by CSIRO, The Western Australian Department of Agriculture, the Warren Cauliflower Group Inc. and CSIRO’s Food into Asia initiative.

For more information call Dr Mark Gibberd (03 5051 3100) or email: mark.gibberd@csiro.