Temperature Management Importance
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Maintain Tomato Quality & Taste
While many factors play an integral role in the final flavor and appearance of fruit, perhaps the greatest is proper temperature. For example, exposure of tomatoes to undesirable temperatures - below 55°F (13°C) or above 75°F (23.5°C) - will result in damage. While fruit pulp temperatures 75°F or above can result in failure to ripen, 55°F or below will result in chilling injury, and the damage is cumulative. Symptoms include poor ripening, increased softening and decay, and - the biggest killer of repeat tomato sales - reduced flavor quality. The taste of a chilled tomato is compromised long before any external symptoms are visible, so a consumer of a chilled tomato knows nothing better than to blame the tomato, not the handling process, and will likely vow to never buy that type again! Therefore temperature management is crucial from field to supermarket shelf.
There are a myriad of web publications on the topic of Tomato Quality; here are a few areas:
Our sister company, QA Supplies, has a myriad of management tools to help keep an eye on temperatures: www.qasupplies.com/thermometers.html
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Smart-RipeŽ update
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 Currently in several beta tests
Our Smart-RipeŽ system has been re-engineered to add an ethylene sensor, giving better control over ethylene levels in the ripening room. Now a ripener can see actual ethylene levels on a control panel at the room and on the Internet via a web page that lists all rooms. We are currently testing this system and plan to introduce it early next year.
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| Quotable |
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 "A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?"
Albert Einstein
1879 - 1955
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