Abstract
To better handle variable temperature regimes in produce distribution, a master packaging system consisting of a double-layered gas barrier has been applied to fresh king oyster mushrooms. A secondary master package wrapping four individual 350 g packages was designed to be dismantled when moved to the 10°C retail display from the presale storage at 0°C. Different numbers of microperforations (10, 15 and 20) were tested on the inner individual packages as a control variable to create and maintain beneficial modified atmospheric conditions around the mushrooms. The microperforated individual packages could all attain an effective range of modified atmosphere during the two stages of storage at 0 and 10°C while the package with 15 microperforations best reached the desired modified atmosphere of 1 − 3% O2 and 10 − 15% CO2. The individual packages in the master packaging system had better preservation in quality attributes, such as weight loss, mold/yeast count and texture retention, compared with the control perforated packages of a normal atmosphere.
