Quality of ‘Oso Grande’ strawberries is affected by O2, CO2 and N2O concentrations during controlled atmosphere storage

Luis Carlos Cunha Junior,Angelo Pedro Jacomino,Cristiane Maria Ascari Morgado,Gilmarcos De Carvalho Corrêa,Marise Cagnin Martins Parisi,Gustavo Henrique De Almeida Teixeira,Marcos José Trevisan

doi:10.1590/1678-4499.2018214

Abstract

Consumers around the world appreciate strawberries for their taste. They have low calories and high concentrations of soluble fibers, vitamin C and flavonoids. This paper verified the combined effect of O2, CO2, and N2O levels on ‘Oso Grande’ strawberries stored at 10° C, under controlled atmosphere (CA). Five different gas mixtures were used: 0.03 kPa CO2 + 20 kPa O2, 80 kPa N2O + 20 kPa O2, 90 kPa O2 + 10 kPa N2, 60 kPa O2 +40 kPa CO2, and 20 kPa O2 + 20 kPa CO2 + 60 kPa N2O. The lowest incidence of postharvest decay was observed with treatment20 kPa O2 + 20 kPa CO2 + 60 kPa N2O, followed by 80 kPa N2O +20 kPa O2 and 90 kPa O2 + 10 kPa N2. The treatment 60 kPa O2 + 40 kPa CO2 induced an increase in the production of acetaldehyde and ethanol, and these levels were considered inadequate for human consumption. The first factor, named senescence, displayed a positive correlation with soluble solids, luminosity, hue angle, firmness and incidence of decay. hpsThe second factor, named CA-induced injury, showedhps that total acidity correlated negatively with ethanol and acetaldehyde levels. Hiehpsrarchical cluster analysis indicated that strawberries stored underhps80 kPa N2O + 20 kPa O2hps for 14hps hpsdays more closely resembled the quality of fresh fruit at the moment of harvesthps. ‘Oso Grande’ strawberries stored at 10 ºC under 80 kPa N2O + 20 kPa O2 and 90 kPa O2 +10 kPa N2 were in better conditions, with no metabolic alterations, showing that these are the ideal storage conditions.

Highlights

Strawberry has a postharvest life of only two days at room temperature that represents an obstacle to longdistance distribution (Malgarim et al, 2006)
Under 20 kPa O2 + 20 kPa CO2 + 60 kPa N2O strawberries displayed the lowest incidence of postharvest decay on day 14 (5.7%, p < 0.05), followed by strawberries stored in 80 kPa N2O + 20 kPa O2 and 90 kPa O2 + 10 kPa N2
Strawberries stored at 60 kPa O2 + 40 kPa CO2 did not develop decay until day 8, the fruit produced a strong fermentation odor (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Strawberry has a postharvest life of only two days at room temperature that represents an obstacle to longdistance distribution (Malgarim et al, 2006). Different techniques have been used to extend strawberry’s shelf life, including modified (MAP) or controlled atmosphere (CA) (Cunha Junior et al, 2013). Strawberry has a good tolerance to high CO2 storage, which extends postharvest life, reducing the incidence of disease and maintaining fruit firmness. The benefits of CA in extending the storage life of strawberries have been long well documented (Zhang and Watkins, 2005; Cunha Junior et al, 2013). Low O2 in association or not with high CO2 levels can extend strawberry shelf life (Holcroft and Kader, 1999). High O2 concentrations have been shown to extend the postharvest life of fruit and vegetables. Storage by means of under CA allows the use of gases with fungicidal effect, such as nitrous oxide (N2O) which has been shown to inhibit disease and ethylene production in fruit (Qadir and Hashinaga, 2001)

Objectives

Methods

Results