Preharvest and postharvest factors influencing vitamin C content of horticultural crops

Summary

This review by Lee and Kader synthesises published evidence on the multiple pre-harvest factors — including genotype, growing environment, cultural practices, and maturity — and post-harvest conditions — including temperature management, atmosphere modification, and processing — that influence vitamin C concentrations in horticultural produce. The paper provides a systematic account of the relative importance of these variables, offering a useful reference for understanding nutrient retention across the supply chain. It is a widely cited contribution to the postharvest science literature and is relevant to both producers and those concerned with dietary nutrient quality.

UK applicability

Although not specific to the UK, the principles reviewed are broadly applicable to UK horticultural production, cold-chain management, and retail storage practices; the findings are relevant to UK policy discussions around nutrient density, food quality standards, and minimising nutritional losses in fresh produce supply chains.

Key measures

Ascorbic acid / vitamin C content (mg/100g fresh weight); percentage retention under varying pre- and post-harvest conditions

Outcomes reported

The paper reviews how agronomic, environmental, and handling factors influence ascorbic acid concentrations in fruit and vegetables, from field conditions through to post-harvest storage and processing. It likely reports on the magnitude of vitamin C losses attributable to factors such as cultivar selection, maturity at harvest, temperature, light exposure, and storage duration.

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