Improvement of plum storage with modified atmosphere packaging

Post-harvest supply chain is a critical point for agro-food marketing. Themanagement of freshness in the storage is fundamental to maintain high profits inthe agro-food sector to improve the distribution and to respond to retailers andconsumers’ requirements. Plums are considered to have a climacteric-ripeningpattern, in which ethylene is the hormone responsible for ripening. Modifiedatmosphere (MA) storage is a method helpful to maintain the natural quality offruits. MA added to low temperatures influence fruit metabolism and reduceethylene production, weight losses, hardness of pulp, preserving vitamins andorganic acids. The objective of this study was to increase the condition of storageand the shelf life of different plum cultivars through the use of MA and differenttypes of plastic film. Considered units are commercial pallets with large batches ofproduct and individual basket units. Qualitative destructive analysis to determineweight losses, total sugar, and acidity titratable were made to compare samplesstored in MA and test mantained in normal atmosphere at 0°C.