Vol. 127 (2014): Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society
Handling & Processing

New clamshells to decrease moisture loss and extend storage life of small fruits

Jinhe Bai
USDA-ARS
Elizabeth Baldwin
USDA-ARS
Anne Plotto
USDA-ARS
Jan Narciso
USDA-ARS
Xiuxiu Sun
USDA-ARS
Libin Wang
USDA-ARS
Zhe Wang
Shenzhen IT
Clark Seavert
Oregon State University
2014 Proceedings Florida State Horticultural Society Volume 127

Published 2018-03-15

Abstract

A humidity efficient one-pound clamshell was designed for small fruit packaging. Quality attributes and shelf-life of lychee, sweet cherry, strawberry, blueberry, Chinese bayberry, and loquat fruits packaged in the new clamshells and commercial clamshells were compared during storage at 0 °C, 5 °C, 10 °C, and/or 20 °C. Water loss of fruit in the new clamshells decreased by at least 62%, in comparison to commercial clamshells at all storage temperatures. As a result, fruit in the new clamshells had less surface shriveling and flesh softening (cherry, strawberry, and blueberry), stem (cherry) and calyx (strawberry) browning and drying, and pericarp browning (lychee).