vegetable packaging

After harvesting, fresh fruits and vegetables are still live organisms engaged in metabolic activity dominated by respiration. Because of the disruption in the flow of chemicals and energy, it can only maintain life by consuming its own carbohydrates, pectin, vitamins, organic acids, and other substances, resulting in a decrease in the quality of fruits and vegetables.

Slowing down respiration, inhibiting metabolism, and making fresh fruits and vegetables dormant or semi-dormant are the main challenges in keeping them fresh. A fruit and vegetable packaging equipment is being used by an increasing number of vegetable and fruit producers and storage owners. In the industry, the following methods of fruit and vegetable preservation are often used:

Refrigeration

Fruit and vegetable preservation methods are now widely utilized, and they can cause fruits and vegetables to enter a dormant condition by lowering the temperature, inhibiting the multiplication of microbes and the activity of enzymes to some extent. Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, are still in a normal air environment, therefore the dormancy condition is shallow and the preservation time is limited.

Climate-Controlled Storage

This approach offers certain advantages over single refrigeration. The modified environment storage is one of the world’s most modern fruit and vegetable storage facilities. It can regulate not just the warehouse’s temperature and humidity, but also the amount of oxygen, carbon dioxide, ethylene, and other gases. It can make the fruits and vegetables in the warehouse inert by managing the gas composition in the storage environment.

Refrigerator Truck with Air Conditioning

Air-conditioned refrigerated vehicles have high costs, high energy consumption, and low actual transport capacity as compared to standard refrigeration trucks. Furthermore, air-conditioned refrigerated trucks and air-conditioned containers can only retain their temperature during transit, and fresh agricultural products are eaten excessively in sales channels such as shelves.

Atmosphere-Modified Packaging

It not only retains the advantages of modified atmosphere storage but also solves its drawbacks. The nutrition, color, and flavor of fresh agricultural products can be retained by maintaining a modified atmospheric condition in the storage, circulation, and shelf of fresh agricultural items, as well as in-home refrigerators. It has the following characteristics: low investment, good fresh-keeping effect, and the ability to combine the air-conditioning and refrigeration chains to extend the shelf life of fresh agricultural products.

The principle of modified atmosphere packaging is to replace the air in plastic bags or trays of fruits and vegetables with compound fresh-keeping gas, change the gas ratio in the bags or trays, and create a micro-air-conditioned environment in the bags or trays, that is, to create micro-air-conditioned storage, in order to prolong freshness. Fruit and vegetable metabolism can extend their shelf life and freshness.