ABSTRACT
Storage of vegetables in their fresh form prolongs their usefulness and in some cases improves their quality. It also checks market glut, enables in orderly marketing and increases financial gain to the producers by preserving the quality of produce. The spoilage of vegetables in storage houses are caused by various kinds of micro-organisms. Among bacteria and fungi are most predominant. The inoculums of bacteria are generally proliferated by direct contact of vegetables with contaminated surfaces of packaging used in various stages of transport and storage chain. Atmosphere devoid of O2 caused no ripening in peach, prunes and apricot for several days but ripening continued when they were placed back in air. Controlled Atmosphere storage systems used commercially for the long-term storage of fresh horticultural crops. Commercial use of CA storage is the maximum on apples and pears worldwide. Many pathogenic organisms such as Clostridium botulinum, Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium perfinges, and Bacillus cereus, grow at 5-12°C and spoil the vegetables.
