Cooling Must Match the Product
Many tropical crops are damaged by excessive cooling. Mangoes, bananas, papayas, pineapples, tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants should not simply be placed in a conventional 2°C cold room.
They require gentle cooling – often between 10°C and 15°C – combined with appropriate humidity control. This slows respiration and deterioration while avoiding chilling injury.
At the same time, very perishable crops such as leafy vegetables, broccoli, herbs and berries benefit enormously from rapid cooling to near 0°C.
Typical Product Requirements
| Product | Recommended storage temperature | Typical marketable life under good conditions |
| Leafy vegetables and lettuce | 0–2°C | Around 14–21 days, depending on variety |
| Broccoli | Around 0°C | Up to about one month; only around 5 days at 10°C |
| Carrots | Around 0°C | Several weeks for young roots; much longer for mature, properly packed roots |
| Green beans | 5–7.5°C | Around 8–12 days |
| Okra | 7–10°C | Around 7–10 days |
| Peppers | 7.5–10°C | Often 3–5 weeks, depending on variety and handling |
| Cucumbers | 10–12.5°C | Up to about 14 days |
| Tomatoes | 12–15°C, depending on maturity | About 8–10 days when firm-ripe; mature-green fruit can be held for up to 14 days before ripening |
| Mangoes | Around 13°C when mature-green | About 2–4 weeks, depending on cultivar and maturity |
| Papayas | 10–13°C, depending on ripeness | About 2–4 weeks when harvested at the appropriate stage |
| Bananas and plantains | 10–14°C | Usually 1–3 weeks, depending on maturity and variety |
| Oranges and many citrus fruits | 3–8°C | Up to about 3 months for suitable varieties |
| Pumpkins and winter squash | 12.5–15°C | Approximately 2–6 months |
Indicative storage periods depend on crop variety, maturity at harvest, hygiene, packaging, relative humidity, pre-cooling and an unbroken cold chain. They are planning values, not a universal performance guarantee.