I EDITION | ON LINE | APPLICATION

Deadline for Registration - EXTENDED

TBC

Coordinator

Pietro Tonutti

Period

TBC

Learning objectives

The United Nations and FAO have declared 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables (F&V).  The Year aims, in particular, to direct attention to reducing loss and waste of these highly perishable produce items and to raise awareness of the nutritional and health benefits of consuming more F&V. These two goals can be achieved through concerted actions in the different steps of F&V value chain: production and distribution, produce environments (e.g. proximity, affordability), and consumer behavior, including eating habits. In this context postharvest strategies and handling protocols play key roles.
Main issues addressed by the Seasonal School are related to higher availability of F&V,  reduction of postharvest losses, global quality assurance, including nutritional and functional attributes, and increased convenience to stimulate opportunities of consumption; this will imply improved knowledge of biological and physiological processes of ripening, senescence and host/pathogen interaction, of most advanced innovations in quality evaluation techniques, in minimal-processing, in active and smart packaging, and in state-of-the-art storage technology and its effects on extrinsic and intrinsic properties of the products.
At the end of the Seasonal School, students will develop a comprehensive view of the up-to-date F&V supply-chain innovations and the on-going direction of the research in this multidisciplinary sector.

Teaching methodologies

Considering the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related-restrictions, lessons will be offered both in presence and on-line. Students will find an interactive and cross-disciplinary learning environment with several experts participating in the program presenting their experience in four didactic modules:

I – New insights in ripening, senescence, and postharvest physiology of F&V; II – Storage protocols and postharvest losses:  causes and impacts; III – Nutritional and functional properties of F&V and quality changes after harvest, IV – Postharvest Technology and Biotechnology and F&V quality in a changing world

Who should attend this Seasonal School?

Undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD students from different backgrounds (e.g. agricultural science, food technology, plant science, biology) who are interested in understanding key steps, between the producer and the consumer, of the supply and value chain of F&V.

Coordinator

Prof. Pietro Tonutti (Scuola Sant’Anna Pisa)

Key teaching staff

• Prof. Luca Sebastiani (Scuola Sant’Anna Pisa)
• Prof. Anna Mensuali (Scuola Sant’Anna Pisa)
• Prof. Susanna Bartolini (Scuola Sant’Anna Pisa)
• Prof. Vincenzo Lionetti (Scuola Sant’Anna Pisa)
• Prof. Giancarlo Colelli (University of Foggia)
• Prof. Antonio Ferrante (University of Milano)