# Shelf-life Assessment on European Cucumber Based on Accelerated Temperature-Humidity Stresses
## 1 Introduction  
The international trade in fruit and vegetables is a sector that represents one of the main items of exportation and foreign exchange between Mexico and the United States [1]. It is estimated that in Mexico, 20% to 35% of the production of agricultural products to be exported to the United States becomes lost during the postharvest stage (storage and transportation). During these stages, changes are made in quality attributes where the product loses firmness and carries out changes in color and shape [2]. Among other changes that can be presented, is weight loss. It is considered that a horticultural product suffers from wilting when it has a loss of 5% of its weight [3]. Since cucumber is highly perishable, it is prone to physiological damage, moisture loss, shriveling, yellowing, and microbiological deterioration [4]. In trying to minimize the impact of the loss of quality attributes, attention is drawn to highlighting the effects of the usual environmental conditions that the product is exposed to over the storage process to the final consumer [5]. Thus, it is necessary to perform a reliability analysis on European cucumber to analyze the effect of temperature and humidity on the supply chain stage as factors causing the loss of product quality. For reliability tests, a probability model is fitted to determine the product's lifetime by using life-strength relationships. These models allow us to know the process of the degradation of a product considering whether it complies with its quality characteristics [6]. Reliability testing relies on accelerated life testing to obtain lifetime data for a product in less time. For accelerated life tests, the product is induced to lose its quality attributes inan accelerated way under severe conditions. Such data are useful to infer the reliability of a product under normal conditions of use by mathematical models such as the Arrhenius life-strength relationship, where the response variable is time [7]. In this investigation, the percentage of weight loss is reached over specific humidity and temperature levels. In works such as [PERSON] [8], it is explained how the Arrhenius equation can model the dependence of the deterioration reactions of fresh-cut crop products concerning temperature. Similarly, [PERSON] [9] used the Arrhenius equation to predict the shelf life of soluble coffee powder at 25, 30, 35, and 40 \({}^{\circ}\)C relative to the type of packaging. They evaluated the laminated paper, cardboard, and glass, making physical-chemical, microbiological, sensory, relative humidity, and water activity tests. It was found that the glass packaging had a longer shelf life, maintaining better relative humidity, pH, acidity, and color for 624 days compared with laminated paper and paperboard with 279 and 466 days, respectively. [PERSON] [10] investigated accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT) through sensory evaluation and acceptability of green tea including high temperatures, light, oxygen, and humidity during the test. They showed that it is possible to predict the suitable drinking period of green tea during storage through the Q10 method. Moreover, the shelf life of mayonnaise was estimated through accelerated testing [11]. The specific reaction constants were estimated using the peroxide index as an accelerating deterioration factor, and then the Arrhenius equation was used. They found a relationship to estimate the shelf life of the mayonnaise. Similarly, estimations of the life of tomato paste were performed through accelerated testing, using color degradation as a stressing deterioration factor. Moreover, with the reaction rates and the Arrhenius equation, a linear relationship was obtained to estimate the shelf life of tomato paste [12]. Temperature has been reported as a factor that influences the decrease in firmness of a fruit; an increase in temperature during storage causes the firmness of the product to decrease. As an example, a study was performed on sagging pepper cultivars.