Vol. 7, Issue 4 (2018)

Author(s):
Aadil Afzal Mir, Monika Sood and Julie D Bandral

Abstract:
Peaches are known for their palatable flavour and abundant nutrients. However, peaches are perishable, and the existing preservation techniques for peaches are still immature. Therefore, the present study was carried out to find out the effect of active packaging and different levels of ventilation on quality of peach fruits under refrigerated storage conditions. Peach (Prunus persica L. Batch) fruits of cultivar “Shan-e- Punjab” were harvested at colour break stage and packed in thermocol trays wrapped with LDPE bags comprising the following treatments: T₁ (control), T₂ (ethylene absorber + 0 perforation), T₃ (ethylene absorber + 4 perforations), T₄ (ethylene absorber + 8 perforations), T₅ (oxygen absorber + 0 perforation), T₆ (oxygen absorber + 4 perforations), T₇ (oxygen absorber + 8 perforations), respectively. The packed fruits were stored under refrigerated conditions and analysed at regular interval of 7 days to ascertain the changes occurring in physical, chemical, and sensory quality parameters. Treatment T₃ (ethylene absorber + 4 perforations) recorded the lowest mean physiological loss in weight of 3.06 per cent. During initial days of storage no signs of decay were observed however, with the advancement of storage period the highest mean decay percentage of 11.09 per cent was recorded in T₁ (control). Highest retention of ascorbic acid (9.73 mg/100g) was observed in T₃ (ethylene absorber + 4 perforations). Total phenolic content decreased with the progression of the storage period. Sensory evaluation of actively packaged peach fruits revealed that T₃ (ethylene absorber + 4 perforations) recorded the highest mean score for overall acceptability (7.50). Overall, T₃ (ethylene absorber + 4 perforations) was best suited active packaging to retain quality as well as reduce the spoilage of peach fruits during storage under refrigerated conditions.