EFFECT OF ACTIVE AND PASSIVE MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING OF SWEET CHERRY

Abstract

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) has been widely used to extend the postharvest life of sweet cherry. Under passive MAP, the new atmosphere around the fruit is generated by the fruit respiration starting from 21 kPa O2 and 0.03 kPa CO2. Under active MAP, the atmosphere is generated by the respiration of the fruit starting from an atmosphere produced by vacuum and gas mixture of CO2/O2 of 40 kPa CO2 and 60 kPa N2. ‘Sweetheart’ fruit were harvested, selected from a packing line and packed in three commercial modified atmosphere bags, including passive and active systems. Fruit packed in a non-sealed bag was left as control. CO2 and O2 concentrations inside of active and passive MA bags were similar and varied between 6 to 9 kPa and 10 to 13 kPa after two days of packaging, respectively. Steady state CO2 and O2 concentration was not dependent on the initial modification of the atmosphere in the MA bags evaluated for sweet cherry. All MAP systems evaluated reduced the incidence of decay similarly compared with control bags; however, the incidence of decay was not controlled after three days at 20°C.