390 Controlled-Atmosphere Tents for Storage of Fresh Blueberries in Conventional Refrigerated Rooms

Abstract

A plastic tent was designed and constructed for the controlled atmosphere (CA) storage of fresh blueberries. The CA tent was suspended from pallet racking in a standard cold room and held two standard pallets stacked 6 feet high with flats of packaged blueberries. The tent was sealed with two air-tight zippers and a small water trough, resulting in an air-tight chamber that successfully maintained CA storage environments. The CA tent was easily set up and removed to allow flexibility in use of storage space. To provide efficient use of storage space, tents could be stacked two or three high on pallet racking. The tent was easily loaded and unloaded by a single person using a forklift. CA tents provide an economical alternative to traditional CA rooms for the storage of small quantities of fresh blueberries and allows greater flexibility in marketing than traditional CA storage rooms. CA tents are suitable for the storage of other fresh produce that benefits from CA environments.