PACKAGING AND HANDLING OF FRESH TOMATO FROM TONO IRRIGATION PROJECT SITE

Abstract

Tomato is all important vegetable in the diet of the people of Ghana. Large quantities of fresh tomato are produced at Tono Irrigation Project site ill tile Upper East Region, whilst the major marketing centers are located ill the southern parts of lite country, quite a distant away from this production Centre. To retain produce quality and to reduce risk of handling damage, appropriate packaging is necessary to ensure the produce reaches the consumer ill an acceptable quality, The study showed that wooden boxes (crates) which are used, generally for packaging in the fresh tomato trade provided some degree of protection for the produce against bruising, External factors however, were observed 10 contribute to produce quality deterioration during packaging and handling. The use of boxes as measuring units (volume rather than weight) gives room to manipulation by traders as they try to overfill the boxes. This was identified as (I major cause of squashing and bruising of the produce.