Bruise Damage Susceptibility of Tomato

Tomato is one of the most highly produced and consumed fresh produce worldwide. Tomato fruit contains a high concentration of beneficial minerals and nutrients which make them favorable for health-conscious people. Tomato fruit is perishable fresh produce that is highly susceptible to external factors during the postharvest supply chain like mechanical damages. Bruising is a mechanical injury that is described as damage to the tissue of the fresh fruit due to different external forces such as impact, cut, abrasion, compression, and vibration. Various studies have been conducted to measure the bruising intensity and susceptibility of tomatoes by using simulated handling practices like drop and pendulum tests. Besides, other studies evaluated the effect of simulated and ground transport on bruising and subsequent quality attributes of tomatoes. Bruising can affect the physico-chemical quality of tomatoes and cause fruit deterioration rendering them unfavorable to consumers. At the market level, consumers prefer high-quality fruit that are usually assessed based on their taste and appearance. Bruise damage reduces the weight and firmness of the fruit. Also, it can accelerate the changes in color, chemical, and nutritional composition of the fruit, thus, reducing the market and economic value. Utilizing techniques for bruise detection may help prevent bruise damage to fruit throughout the supply chain processes. Many studies used non-destructive tech-niques like visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy, hyperspectral imaging, thermal imaging (TI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), etc. Bruising susceptibil-ity and its effect on tomatoes and recent technical developments for its detection are discussed.