Moisture absorption kinetics of FruitPad for packaging of fresh strawberry

Abstract

This study analysed the moisture absorption kinetics of FruitPad embedded with different concentrations of fructose with further application of such pads in packaging of fresh strawberries. The FruitPad was exposed to different storage conditions (temperature and RH) and moisture absorption kinetics was gravimetrically determined over 5 days of storage. FruitPad with 30% fructose showed highest amount of moisture absorption (0.94 g of water/g of pad) at 20 °C and 100% RH. The Weibull model combined with the Flory-Huggins model adequately described changes in moisture content of the FruitPad with respect to storage time and humidity (R 2 = 93-96%). The FruitPad containing fructose minimized in-package condensation compared to the pad without fructose. Weight loss of packaged strawberry was less than 0.9% which was much below the acceptable limit of 6% for strawberry.

Condensation regulation of packaged strawberries under fluctuating storage temperature

“…In addition, results showed that the fluctuating temperature led to a higher mass loss when compared with experiments carried out at 12°C for the same 5 days . Under constant temperature, with two microperforations of 0.7‐mm diameter, the percentage mass loss of strawberries was 0.92%, 0.62%, 0.26%, and 0.21%, which represents an increase of 1.4, 1.7, 2.7, and 2.9 times higher for FP‐30, FP‐20, FP‐00, and control, respectively.…”

“…FruitPads incorporated with varying fructose content (as active absorbing component) were used to evaluate package performance under the fluctuating temperature. The structure of the Fruitpads (McAirLaid's Vliesstoffe GmbH, Steinfurt, Germany) is as described in Bovi et al Package types were named according to the percentage of fructose contained were FP‐00, FP‐20, FP‐30, FP‐35, and FP‐40 for FruitPad containing 0%, 20%, 30%, 35%, and 40% of fructose, respectively. For comparison purpose, other packaging materials with relatively high WVTR such as Xtend film (StePac, Tefen, Israel) and cellulose‐based biodegradable NatureFlex film (Innovia Films, Cumbria, UK) were used (Table ).…”

“…Moreover, a wide range of condensation control strategies have been tested for fresh produce packed under MAP and MAHP conditions at constant temperature . However, few studies have been carried out under fluctuating temperature .…”

“…Studies addressing condensation regulation have been carried out such as by the use of salt trays, [7][8][9] humidity windows with enhanced permeable films, [10][11][12][13][14][15] fructose pads, 16 and water absorbers. 17,18 These strategies have been experimentally tested for different products including strawberry, 8,10,16 avocado, 17 pomegranate arils, 13 mushroom, 7 fresh-cut cauliflower, 12 tomato, 8,15 and fresh-cut iceberg lettuce. 11 Moreover, from Table 1, it is possible to see that at supermarket display points, the use of ventilated packages (eg, use of macroperforations) is being used to help control condensation and heat flow.…”

“…Moreover, a wide range of condensation control strategies have been tested for fresh produce packed under MAP and MAHP conditions at constant temperature. 10,12,13,16 However, few studies have been carried out under fluctuating temperature. 20 Hence, the hypothesis of this study is that minor temperature fluctuation during the supply chain can lead to water condensation and optimal package design can effectively regulate in-package humidity under such fluctuations.…”