The Implications of Post-Harvest Storage Time and Temperature on the Phytochemical Composition and Quality of Japanese-Styled Green Tea Grown in Australia: A Food Loss and Waste Recovery Opportunity

The increases in consumer awareness of the potential health benefits green tea have driven global demand for products. This study investigated effect post-harvest processing and storage Japanese-styled (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) grown NSW, Australia. Harvested material underwent a delay 6, 12, 18 or 24 h at temperatures 0, 5 25 °C. Targeted constituents: theanine, caffeine catechins were determined using HPLC with UV detection. Product quality commercial value Quality Index (QI) Tool. Reductions constituent levels evident within all delays, nominal preservation achieved by reducing temperature. stored °C created most commercially valued product, despite it having visual characteristics more akin to semi-fermented tea. These are traditionally considered markers damage discarded; however, QI-Tool scoring suggests that this raw presents as favourable source food loss waste (FLW). findings extend our understanding delays on suggest viability valuable produced from FLW.