ABSTRACT
Immediately after harvest, the sensorial, nutritional, and organoleptic quality of fresh produce will start to decline as a result of altered plant metabolism and microbial growth. In addition, modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) is a preservation technique that may further minimize the physiological and microbial decay of perishable produce by keeping them in an atmosphere that is different from the normal composition of air. MAP of respiring food products such as fresh and minimally processed produce requires a different approach than MAP of nonrespiring foods. The strategy of packaging produce under modified atmospheres is to slow down the metabolic activity of the product as well as of the growth of microorganisms present by limiting O2 supply and by application of an elevated level of CO2. With MAP, the gas composition surrounding the produce inside the package is different from the gas composition outside the package.
