INSPeCT: Improving Nutrition and Storage of Parsnips and Carrots

The INSPeCT project focuses on improving the nutritional quality of carrots and parsnips by developing new and innovative post-harvest storage practices, removing or minimising the need for in-field storage. Presently, the future sustainability of the sector is at risk from high crop wastage and production costs, coupled with a need to ensure carrots and parsnips remain affordable for consumers. Reducing the cost and quality losses associated with in-field storage would significantly contribute to this, whilst also leading to crop nutritional benefits.

Our approach will encompass benchmarking of nutritional and aesthetic quality characteristics and how agronomy and processing methods impact on these. Utilising this information, we will optimise these steps to minimise degradation throughout production and processing. Alongside optimising current processes we will also explore new and novel technologies to improve post-harvest storage.