When it comes to processing perishable crops, what is done to the crops the moment they are uprooted from the ground determines the final quality of the said crop, to a very large extent. As the name suggests, the act of processing the crop ( Dusting, sorting, cleaning and packing the crops) after the harvest, is called Post harvesting. It becomes a critical part in processing perishable food crops because these crops have a tendency to deteriorate from the moment they are uprooted from the farms. Processed food items, fresh farm produce or whatever it is that the crop ought to be sold for, the out put of the post harvesting technology largely determines the caliber of the processed food crop. 

Though it might seem like an obvious thing to do post harvesting the crop, it is still a difficult task to be achieved  either due to lack of awareness or due to the lack of infrastructure. Post harvest usually consists of cleaning up of the crops, removing moisture and bringing down the pace of the chemical reactions that usually occur then. These chemical reactions can also occur, in some cases, when two crops are stored together, given a particular temperature. To avoid this and also to streamline the post harvesting operations a lot of expensive equipment has to be put in place like complicated sorting, packing, storing and facilities for moving perishable crops about in storage areas are duly put in place, more so,if we are talking about a fully functional industrial size which comes equipped with conveyor belts for moving these crops around, cold-storage facilities,atmosphere-controllable storage equipment and advanced sorting and harvesting machinery.

The above mentioned sophisticated equipment, coupled with state-of-the-art technology managed efficiently with superbly trained staff should be able to battle with the time constrained challenge of being able to produce the best quality output, especially with regards to the perishable food crops and hence becomes an important element in the food processing chain.