Development and Evaluation of a New Packaging System for Fresh Produce: a Case Study on Fresh Cherries Under Global Supply Chain Conditions
2015
Koutsimanis, Georgios | Harte, Janice | Almenar, Eva
A new packaging system to extend the shelf life of fresh produce in a cold chain with changing temperatures has been developed. This new packaging system allows rapid increase of the CO₂concentration (while reducing the O₂concentration) when stored at low temperature, and an immediate adjustment to temperature rises in the cold chain in order to maintain optimal gas compositions. The storage stability of fresh cherries, both stem-on and stem-free, was monitored under domestic (road transport) and international (ocean transport) supply chain conditions. The predominant retail package for fresh cherries, flexible, macroperforated polyethylene bags, was used as controls. Package headspace gas composition, fungal growth, weight loss, color, texture, pH, and titratable acidity were monitored for up to 17 and 27 days for domestic and international supply chain conditions, respectively. Consumer acceptance sensory tests were conducted after 14 and 27 days of storage (N > 70). The beneficial effects of the use of this new packaging system included the reduction of fungal growth (P ≤ 0.05) and the maintenance of firmness and red color (P ≤ 0.05). The specific package design also allowed minimization of weight loss due to transpiration. Consumers demonstrated a significant purchasing preference for the new package versus the control (P ≤ 0.05) and rated cherries stored in these packages significantly higher than those stored in the controls using a 9-point hedonic scale. Significantly higher consumer acceptance was found for appearance under simulated domestic supply chain conditions and aroma and flavor under simulated international supply chain conditions.
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