Articles
Sulfur dioxide gasification and generators combined with controlled atmosphere on postharvest quality of ‘Blue Ribbon’ blueberries
Article number
1456_48
Pages
369 – 376
Language
English
Abstract
Chile is the second-largest supplier of fresh blueberries in the Southern Hemisphere.
Our blueberries are exported to distant markets such as North America, Europe, and Asia, and maintaining high quality standards is a significant challenge.
This study evaluated the postharvest quality of the ‘Blue Ribbon’ cultivar treated with different technologies simulating cool shipping conditions.
The fruits were treated with sulfur dioxide (SO2) gasification at harvest, followed by cooling and packaging in perforated bags with SO2 generators.
The boxes were stored for 35 days at 0°C in cold storage chambers, under either normal air or controlled atmosphere (CA) of 6% O2 and 14% CO2. After storage, fruits were held for 2 days at 5°C and 2 days at 10°C to simulate commercial conditions.
Evaluations included weight loss, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA). The CA treatments resulted in weight loss of less than 1.5% and fruit appearance below 5% dehydration.
Additionally, under CA conditions, firmness values were higher than 228 gf mm‑1 (150 gf mm‑1: minimum export standard). The combination of gasification and CA completely inhibited decay in the fruits.
Under these treatments, TSS values were slightly lower, reaching 11.3%, while acidity remained stable compared to the initial evaluation.
In conclusion, the combination of SO2 gasification and a controlled atmosphere of 6% O2 and 14% CO2 proved effective in maintaining ‘Blue Ribbon’ blueberries in optimal quality conditions after prolonged storage.
Our blueberries are exported to distant markets such as North America, Europe, and Asia, and maintaining high quality standards is a significant challenge.
This study evaluated the postharvest quality of the ‘Blue Ribbon’ cultivar treated with different technologies simulating cool shipping conditions.
The fruits were treated with sulfur dioxide (SO2) gasification at harvest, followed by cooling and packaging in perforated bags with SO2 generators.
The boxes were stored for 35 days at 0°C in cold storage chambers, under either normal air or controlled atmosphere (CA) of 6% O2 and 14% CO2. After storage, fruits were held for 2 days at 5°C and 2 days at 10°C to simulate commercial conditions.
Evaluations included weight loss, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA). The CA treatments resulted in weight loss of less than 1.5% and fruit appearance below 5% dehydration.
Additionally, under CA conditions, firmness values were higher than 228 gf mm‑1 (150 gf mm‑1: minimum export standard). The combination of gasification and CA completely inhibited decay in the fruits.
Under these treatments, TSS values were slightly lower, reaching 11.3%, while acidity remained stable compared to the initial evaluation.
In conclusion, the combination of SO2 gasification and a controlled atmosphere of 6% O2 and 14% CO2 proved effective in maintaining ‘Blue Ribbon’ blueberries in optimal quality conditions after prolonged storage.
Authors
R. Neira, V. Muñoz, M. Piña, J. Villegas, F. Hernández, J. Pinto, V.H. Escalona
Keywords
controlled atmosphere, SO2, refrigerated transport, decay, berries
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