Articles
RipeLocker: low pressure storage to extend the storage life of horticultural commodities
Article number
1396_37
Pages
271 – 276
Language
English
Abstract
Despite success in postharvest research, low pressure storage (LPS) technology has failed to be commercialized due to size, cost, engineering and supply chain constraints.
Under LPS conditions, horticultural commodities experience rapid gas diffusion between the environment and their intercellular air spaces due to open stomates and leveled gas gradients.
This enables tolerance to ultra-low oxygen (ULO) and higher carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, when compared to traditional postharvest technologies, without risk of fermentation and/or injury to the perishable.
These environmental conditions enable advantages such as: reduced respiration, delayed senescence, fully saturated air (to mitigate weight loss) and pathogen growth suppression.
In recent years, RipeLocker, an innovative postharvest technology company, has developed a pallet-size, dynamically controlled, low pressure (i.e., hypobaric) chamber that has been commercially deployed and shipped successfully.
RipeLocker (RL) LPS chambers are monitored continuously, providing information such as the respiration rate (e.g., O2 consumption, CO2 production), respiratory quotient (RQ) and atmospheric composition to enable real-time decision making and dynamic intervention.
RL has showcased efficacy in reducing weight loss, extending storage life and retaining quality in several commodities and has launched commercially on fresh-cut roses and blueberries.
RL continues to conduct efficacy trials on various flower, fruit and vegetable species to further extend the postharvest life of valuable perishables and to further improve LPS technology.
Under LPS conditions, horticultural commodities experience rapid gas diffusion between the environment and their intercellular air spaces due to open stomates and leveled gas gradients.
This enables tolerance to ultra-low oxygen (ULO) and higher carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, when compared to traditional postharvest technologies, without risk of fermentation and/or injury to the perishable.
These environmental conditions enable advantages such as: reduced respiration, delayed senescence, fully saturated air (to mitigate weight loss) and pathogen growth suppression.
In recent years, RipeLocker, an innovative postharvest technology company, has developed a pallet-size, dynamically controlled, low pressure (i.e., hypobaric) chamber that has been commercially deployed and shipped successfully.
RipeLocker (RL) LPS chambers are monitored continuously, providing information such as the respiration rate (e.g., O2 consumption, CO2 production), respiratory quotient (RQ) and atmospheric composition to enable real-time decision making and dynamic intervention.
RL has showcased efficacy in reducing weight loss, extending storage life and retaining quality in several commodities and has launched commercially on fresh-cut roses and blueberries.
RL continues to conduct efficacy trials on various flower, fruit and vegetable species to further extend the postharvest life of valuable perishables and to further improve LPS technology.
Authors
B.M. Anthony, Y.K. Kim
Keywords
hypobaric, controlled atmosphere, partial pressure, postharvest, physiology
Online Articles (82)