The effects of the green passive MAP on the evolution of the gaseous and quality parameters in strawberries

Rossella Briano,Cristiana Peano,Nicole Giuggioli

doi:10.9755/ejfa.2016-10-1426

Abstract

The strawberries having an high perishability are more likely off-flavor during the postharvest. The control of volatile composition andquality of fruits during the postharvest handling is important especially in response to the change of the storage temperature. The objectiveof this study was to evaluate the effect of “green” passive MAP using films from natural sources on the evolution of the most importantgaseous and quality maturity indices for the strawberries fruits cv. Portola under the changes of the storage temperature. Strawberriesof cv. Portola were packaged with polypropylene (PP) film used as control, polylactic acid (PLA) and a prototype of non-commercialbiodegradable and compostable film (BIO N.C.) up to 10 days. Fruits were maintained at +2 °C for 7 days and then were shifted at +20°C for shelf life. The highest fermentative metabolites as aldehyde, ethanol and ethyl acetate (respectively 0.013 µl/l, 2.560 µl/l and0.830 µl/l) was detected at the end of storage into the PLA due to the highest CO2 (41.4 kPa) and the lowest O2 (2.7 kPa) concentrationsachieved into the MAP. Strawberries stored with the PP and BIO N.C. MAPs globally showed the best qualitative parameters.

Highlights

According to the current social and economic scenario the driver of the innovation in the management of freshness and quality of perishable fruits such as strawberry is the sustainability requirement
The gas composition inside each package during the storage time is influenced by the interaction among environmental factors, physical characteristics of the films used for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and physiological behavior of fruits
For the strawberries stored at low temperature (+2 °C), the O2 content decreased from the initial values of 3.0 kPa, 22.0 kPa and 28.0 kPa respectively for the PP, polylactic acid (PLA) and BIO N.C film up to 5 days of storage while the CO2 content increased to 1.3 kPa, 5.3 kPa and 11.2 kPa in the same time period (Fig. 1)

Summary

Introduction

According to the current social and economic scenario the driver of the innovation in the management of freshness and quality of perishable fruits such as strawberry is the sustainability requirement. The goodness of the MAP is largely dependent by the cultivar, the storage temperature that affects the respiration rate of the fruits, the gas and the water permeability of the wrapping film. All these variables must be considered to evaluate the effect of this technique especially in the case of the strawberries supply chain whose critical point is the maintenance of low the temperature (Pelayo et al, 2003; Russel et al, 2009). Anoxic condition due high CO2 (15-20 kPa) and low O2 levels inside MAP influence the activity of the enzyme alcohol

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Conclusion