Modified-atmosphere Packaging of Grapes and Strawberries Fumigated with Acetic Acid

Abstract

<jats:p>A fumigation technique using brief exposure of fruit to a low concentration of acetic acid vapor was combined with modified-atmosphere packaging to reduce storage rots and increase shelf life of grapes (<jats:italic>Vitis vinifera</jats:italic> L.) and strawberries (<jats:italic>Fragaria ×ananassa</jats:italic> Duch.) by two or three times normal values. Both commodities were inoculated with spores of <jats:italic>Botrytis cinerea</jats:italic> Pers. before fumigation with acetic acid, packaging, and storage at lowered O<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> levels. Fumigation with acetic acid at 8.0 mg·L<jats:sup>–1</jats:sup> followed by modified-atmosphere packaging for 74 days at 0 °C reduced the percentage of rotted grapes from 94% to 2%. Strawberries fumigated with acetic acid at 5.4 mg·L<jats:sup>–1</jats:sup> were free of decay compared to 89% rotted for the control fruit stored for 14 days at 5 °C.</jats:p>

Improvement of the Overall Quality of Table Grapes Stored under Modified Atmosphere Packaging in Combination with Natural Antimicrobial Compounds

“…However, table grapes are nonclimacteric fruits with low respiration intensity, and thus the concentrations of CO 2 inside packages were not high enough to act as fungicide. Then, MAP combined with acetic acid (Moyls and others 1996), chlorine (Zoffoli and others 1999), or SO 2 commercial generator (Artés‐Hernández and others 2004) significantly reduced rot occurrence caused by B. cinerea , but the residue problem persists. To avoid the use of synthetic fungicides and to fulfill consumer demand, there is a need to have available new noncontaminant strategies to preserve the postharvest quality of fruits in general, and table grapes in particular.…”

Prolonged storage of ‘Aledo’ table grapes in a slightly CO2 enriched atmosphere in combination with generators of SO2

“…Deterioration of grapes during storage is characterized by weight loss, stem browning, softening, shattering and decay (Crisoto, Smilanick, & Dokoozlian, 2001;Perkins-Veazie, Collins, Lloid, & Striegler, 1992). In table grapes, the use of modified atmosphere combined with a brief fumigation using acetic acid significantly reduced decay by Botrytis cinerea (Moyls, Sholberg, & Gaunce, 1996) and the use of plastic films to wrap table grapes maintained quality parameters during storage, in contrast to unwrapped berries (Martı´nez-Romero, Guille´n, Castillo, Valero, & Serrano, 2003). However, there is a lack of information about the potential use of modified atmosphere packaging for maintaining the quality of table grapes.…”

“…Although the use of some volatile fungicides, like acetaldehyde (Avissar, Marinansky, & Esis, 1989) and acetic acid (Moyls et al, 1996), has been tested for fighting the development of moulds in strawberry and table grape, it is still thought that storage at low temperature in combination with SO 2 produces the best results (Harvey & Uota, 1978;Mencarelli, Massantini, Lanzarota, & Botondi, 1994;Morris et al, 1992). At the beginning, SO 2 was used in high concentrations for short-time exposures of table grapes or in low concentrations for continuous exposures (Lagunas-Solar et al, 1992).…”

Liquid and vapor-phase vinegar reduces Klebsiella pneumoniae on fresh coriander

“…Many authors have reported that acetic acid vapor is a useful antimicrobial agent in fumigation studies on various fresh produce such as stonefruit , table grapes (Sholberg, Reynolds, & Gaunce, 1996), strawberries (Moyls, Sholberg, & Gaunce, 1996), sweet cherries (Chu, Liu, Zhou, & Tsao, 1999), apricots and plums (Liu & Chu, 2002), apples (Sholberg et al, 2000) and mandarins (Venditti, Dore, Molinu, Agabbio, & D'hallewin, 2009). It would seem that AA vapor prior kills surface-borne microbial spores and thus sterilizes fruit and vegetable surfaces .…”