SWEET HEART®: PROVE DI CONSERVAZIONE IN ATMOSFERA MODIFICATA

Sweet cherries is an important fruit production in Italy. Their shelf life is shortened by loss of firmness, rot susceptibility, discoloration and desiccation of the stem. Postharvest treatments providing a short extension of shelf-life would have an effect on the marketing of fresh cherries. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) have been successfully applied in order to prolong the shelf-life of sweet cherries. High CO2 concentrations maintain fruit brightness, preserve acidity and firmness and extend storage life. For these reasons, the aim of this work was to determine the potential of packaging to extend the shelf life. Sweet Heart® was used to MAP storage for 21 days. The followed parameters were evaluated: soluble solids content (°Brix), titratable acidity (meq/l), colour (CIELAB), texture (Durofel Index). Good results were obtained for Sweet Heart® stored in MAP: in these conditions, cherries present higher titratable acidity and texture than in control sample. The results show that the shelf life of sweet cherries can be extended up to 20 days with minimal changes in quality.