2017 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 95-104
We sought to establish a method of transportation that would retain the freshness of strawberry fruits. Two strawberry cultivars were transported to two countries in South East Asia by air and sea. We used new types of packages, as well as modified atmosphere packaging. During air transport, elastic film and hammock-type packaging reduced the level of damage and loss of firmness, respectively, in ‘Fukuoka S6’ and ‘Oishi berry.’ Quality protection offered by the packages differed depending on the cultivars; therefore, we indicate the necessity of selecting packages and cultivars. During sea transport, modified atmosphere packaging should be used in addition to the new packages because it prevented vascular anthocyanin loss, even though the new packages sufficiently reduced the level of damage to strawberry fruits. Furthermore, a high positive correlation was observed between the level of damage and percentage of damaged fruits, regardless of the use of the modified atmosphere packaging, type of cultivar, or transportation method. Based on this, the level of damage to strawberry fruits could be evaluated by the percentage of damaged fruits alone. In addition, it was suggested that improving the packages to reduce the percentage of damaged fruits could lower the level of damage simultaneously.
