Are the Fruits and vegetables we eat are alive?

Are the Fruits and vegetables we eat are alive?

Me, I do believe that the fruits and vegetables we eat are alive. Why? Because they respire. And they also die. Fruits and vegetables are living tissues derived from diverse plant parts, and a consequence of this diversity is the remarkable variation in postharvest behavior. An appreciation of this feature is indispensable in formulating recommendations for handling and sorting commodities.

The response of commodity to its surroundings and to the method of handling depends on their morphological and anatomical features. Examples of these are the plant organ utilized, nature of fruit wall, surface area to volume ratio, number and the amount of stomates, lenticels or cuticles, and the amount of hairs and/or spines.

Table 1

Surface to Weight and Surface to Volume Ratio of Commodities with Various Shapes and Sizes

Commodity	Fruit Weight (grams)	Fruit Volume (mL)	Surface Area  (cm3)	SW	SV
a.       carrot	103.5	104.5	105	1.014	1.00
b.      cucumber	183.3	210.5	180.5	0.98	0.86
c.       potato	94.8	95.5	90	0.95	0.94
d.      calamansi	14.1	11.5	25	1.77	2.17
e.      pechay	67.6	66.5	710.5	10.51	10.68

Table 2

Moisture Loss in Commodities with Various Shapes and Sizes

Days	Weight in Grams
	Commodity
	1	2	3	4	5
1	78.9	176.8	74.9	12	84.8
2	76.4	175.7	74.2	11.4	79.9
3	74.8	174.5	73.6	11.0	74.6
4	73.9	173.6	72.4	10.6	70.2
5	73.1	172.7	71.9	10.1	68.6
6	72.6	171.9	71.1	9.7	63.4
7	71.7	171.1	70.4	9.3	60.7
8	70.5	170.2	69.6	8.9	58.5
9	69.3	169.6	69.0	8.4	54.4
10	68.5	169.0	68.3	8.1	52.3

From the table shown above it shows that:

-          Within the commodities of comparable size, the more nearly the commodity approaches a sphere, the less its surface to volume ratio.

-          Within the commodity or commodities with similar shape, the smaller the size, the larger the surface to volume ratio.

-          The greater the surface to volume ratio or surface to weight ratio, the greater the evaporative surface of the commodity.

-          All other factors being equal smaller commodities should have a greater tendency to lose moisture.

-          Gas exchange is also facilitated  in a commodity with a high surface to volume ratio. The effect of this ratio on some physiological processes constitutes a subtle implication of shape and size.