Institute of Food Research, NARO

People's demand for food products are becoming increasingly sophisticated and they expect high quality, mainly focusing on freshness, health and safety. Moreover, in order to maintain the production base of the agriculture and food industries as domestic consumption is expected to decrease, it is necessary to expand production to meet domestic demand and also to expand exports of high-quality domestic agricultural and food products as much as possible. In order to meet these needs, the Postharvest and Utilization Research Group carries out R & D on distribution technology for agricultural and food products, and development of applications for rice. Specifically, we carry out research on the development and systematization of packaging, storage, and transportation technologies that contribute to the maintenance of the quality of agricultural and food products in the distribution process. Hence, we are developing a three-dimensional transport simulation method, clarifying the optimal storage conditions for fruits and vegetables, developing packaging technologies to prevent damage to fruits and vegetables in distribution, and analyzing the post-harvest physiology and maturation control mechanisms of fruits and vegetables using bioelectrochemistry and genetic engineering techniques. In order to develop new applications for rice use, we have developed methods for evaluating the quality of cooked rice by combining physical property measurement and component measurement, analyzed the components of various varieties of rice and applied it to breeding, and developed methods for processing rice and rice flour with new characteristics.