USING INSULATION AND COOLING TO IMPROVE THE ASPARAGUS COOLCHAIN

The success of the New Zealand asparagus industry depends on the delivering of high quality fresh asparagus by air to distant markets.
Lack of temperature control on aircraft and during offloading can cause rapid quality loss in asparagus.

In simulated transport experiments in 1991 and 1992, we tested the effect of various covers and passive cooling treatments (ice, frozen CO₂) on the temperatures within pallets of fresh asparagus.

After cooling the pallets to 0–2°C, the treatments were applied and the room temperature raised to 20°C. Temperature changes during this time were monitored with sensors positioned throughout each pallet.

Aluminium foil/polybubble laminate, aluminium foil/foam plastic laminate and aluminium foil/paper/aluminium foil laminate provided effective air exchange barriers between the cooled asparagus and the warm room.
The addition of an ice blanket or frozen CO₂ lowered the rate of mean pallet temperature rise even further.
Ice reduced the vertical temperature gradient within the pallet.

Insulation plus ice or frozen CO₂ has the potential for commercial use during the export of fresh asparagus, provided the asparagus is cooled adequately prior to treatment.

VIII International Asparagus Symposium

B.L. Bycroft, D.W. Brash, F. Bollen

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1996.415.46