Evaluation of a palletized modified atmosphere packaging system to extend the shelf-life and maintain quality of green beans stored at cooling temperature
2025
Vanesa Olveira-Bouzas | Consuelo Pita-Calvo | Mª Lourdes Vázquez-Odériz | Mª Ángeles Romero-Rodríguez
Packaging fruit and vegetables in a modified atmosphere (MAP) created inside pallets for cold storage throughout the supply chain could improve the marketing of products. A palletized MAP system was evaluated for ‘Zondra’ Green Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) stored for 21 days at 6 °C and 91 % RH. Cardboard boxes containing the product were stacked on pallets which were subsequently wrapped in low-density polyethylene bags, and a mixture of O2-CO2 was introduced inside. Changes in gas composition were monitored daily. The effects of the storage time and packaging on physico-chemical (firmness, pigments, CIE L*a*b* color parameters, vitamin C, TPC) and sensory characteristics of the bean were evaluated after 0, 7, 14, and 21 days of storage. An initial mixture of 10.0 % O2 - 10.9 % CO2 provided an equilibrium modified atmosphere (17.5 % O2 - 3.8 % CO2) that prevented anaerobic conditions and the appearance of spots on the pods which were observed in 87.5 % of unpackaged samples. After 21 days, the concentrations (mg kg−1) of lutein, β-carotene, chlorophyll a, and chlorophyll b were higher in the packaged (2.9, 5.7, 30.8, 7.5) than unpackaged (2.0, 5.1, 24.6, 6.3) samples. Silica gel was not effective in preventing the development of water vapor condensation inside the packaging bags; after 21 days, 87.5 % of the MAP samples had moisture spots and 62.5 % were `quite hydrated'. This palletized MAP system could be an alternative to individual MAP of small quantities of green beans, although another packaging material with greater water vapor permeability would need to be used.
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