Quality of Modified Atmosphere Packaged `Hedelfingen' and `Lapins' Sweet Cherries

Abstract

`Hedelfingen' and `Lapins' sweet cherries ( Prunus avium ) were stored in air or in two types of modified atmosphere (MA) bags (LifeSpan 204 and 208) at 3 °C (37.4 °F) and 90% relative humidity for 4 weeks. Various analytical and quality measurements were conducted weekly on `Hedelfingen' cherries, whereas on `Lapins' these were done initially and at the end of 4 weeks. For `Hedelfingen' cherries, there were differences in carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and oxygen (O 2 ) composition within the MA bags, depending on the bag used. This resulted in slightly better cherry quality for the bag with lower O 2 permeability (L204), which equilibrated at 4% to 5% O 2 and 7% to 8% CO 2 . For `Lapins', the two MA bags showed concentrations of 9% to 10% O 2 and 8% to 9% CO 2 and similar final fruit quality. There was a significant weight loss for the control treatments over time (6% to 13%), whereas the MA treatments showed minimal losses. A higher incidence of cracking and decay was observed in MA treatments of `Hedelfingen' but not in `Lapins'. Control cherries had significant shriveling and browning of stems; MA-stored cherries had green and healthy stems after 4 weeks. No significant differences were observed in pH, acidity, soluble solids, firmness, and hue angle among the storage treatments. MA packaged cherries seemed to maintain better color than control cherries over time. Similarly, MA cherries had better appearance and eating quality after 4 weeks when compared to control cherries.