EFFECT OF DIFFERENT ATMOSPHERES ON QUALITY CHANGES OF KURDISTAN STRAWBERRY

The effects of two modified atmosphere packaging conditions (MAP) and a normal atmosphere on quality parameters of Kurdistan strawberry were investigated. For this purpose, tow containers made up of polypropylene were used to package the strawberry under two different initial headspace gas compositions (MAP1: O2 6%; CO2 7.2%; N2 86.8% and MAP2: O2 0.2%; CO2 10%; N2 89.8%), and control where the strawberry samples were stored without packaging in normal atmosphere. Physico-chemical and microbiological properties were monitored during a 7-day storage period at refrigerated temperature (5 °C). Results showed that two MAP packaging conditions significantly prevent product decay and improved the shelf life when compared with the unpackaged product. In this study, the best results were recorded with the MAP1, which assured a shelf life more than 7 days with flavour remaining. MAP, as a technique to extend shelf life, can be used to maintain the quality of Kurdistan strawberry.