Post-harvest losses are a significant yet often invisible drain on the global food supply chain. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that around 14% of global food production is lost post-harvest, with losses as high as 30% to 40% in developing countries due to improper post-harvest treatment and technologies.
These losses translate to an estimated $2.6 billion each year in direct food loss and waste each year, contributing to approximately $1 trillion in economic losses. Such losses, particularly in staple crops like wheat, pose a severe threat to global food security, economic sustainability, and environmental sustainability.
According to the FAO, the estimated post-harvest loss of wheat globally is around 18.4%, or 25 million tons, so a significant amount of wheat is lost during storage, transportation, and handling. This data, published in a 2016 FAO study on post-harvest losses of wheat, maize, and haricot beans, emphasizes the importance of implementing better post-harvest management, new processing technologies, and long-term storage options.
Reducing these losses is crucial for increasing food supply, improving farmer livelihoods, and building a more resilient food system.
Wheat has been a staple food in major civilizations and an essential component of the human diet for over 8,000 years. Wheat, along with rice and maize, accounts for more than 89% of the overall total grain crop. However, despite its historical and economic importance, wheat production has significant challenges, including post-harvest losses due to microbial contamination, pest infestations, and storage inefficiencies.
Traditional preservation methods, including chemical fumigation and thermal treatments, have drawbacks, such as sustainability concerns and potential adverse effects on grain quality.
As the global demand for wheat continues to rise, the industry must adopt innovative, sustainable, and effective post-harvest treatment methods. An emerging technology with significant potential is atmospheric cold plasma, or ACP.
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ACP is a non-thermal, residue-free process that produces reactive gas species, which can effectively decontaminate food surfaces, reduce spoilage, and enhance grain quality without affecting nutritional content or leaving chemical residues. In comparison to traditional chemical fumigation and heat treatments, ACP provides an environmentally sustainable alternative with extensive applications in the grain industry.
One of the most promising uses of ACP in grains is microbial decontamination. Studies show that ACP can significantly reduce bacterial and fungal contamination on wheat grains, effectively inactivating pathogens like aspergillus and fusarium, which are the primary causes of spoilage and mycotoxin production in stored wheat. Mycotoxin contamination, especially by deoxynivalenol (DON) and aflatoxins, poses a significant threat to wheat storage, affecting food safety and trade.
ACP has proven its ability to break down these harmful compounds, reducing the risk of toxic exposure to consumers and ensuring compliance with food safety regulations. ACP treatment has been explored for its impact on wheat flour properties, specifically in terms of dough rheology and baking performance.
Unlike traditional chlorination, which is often used to modify flour qualities for baking, ACP offers a chemical-free alternative that enhances the viscoelastic properties of wheat flour, resulting in improved bread structure and texture.
In addition to preservation, ACP has demonstrated the potential to improve seed germination and vigor. Wheat seeds subjected to ACP treatment enhance water absorption, enzymatic activity, and overall germination rates, rendering it an effective method for seed treatment and pre-sowing conditioning. ACP can have many advantages in wheat production and processing—increased productivity, protection during storage and improved quality of the flour.
While increasing crop productivity is constrained due to limited land and water resources and increased weather variability, reducing food waste by developing post-harvest technologies can be greatly beneficial in addressing food security in different parts of the world.
ACP represents a transformative solution for the wheat industry. As research and commercialization efforts progress, this technology has the potential to transform post-harvest wheat management, thereby contributing to global food security and sustainable agriculture.
Shikhadri Mahanta is a doctoral researcher in Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Her research focuses on utilizing Atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) on grains specifically to improve the quality of wheat.
