1997 Volume 59 Issue 1 Pages 109-116
Restrictions of existing method for measuring the respiration rate of fruits and vegetables in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) was discussed, and usabilities of proposed new method which was based on a material balance equation was shown by comparing the former with the latter in tomato packaging. The principle of the existing method is based on the hypothesis that the respiration rate of fruits and vegetables in MAP is the same as permeability rate of gases which diffused from package film. If it is used in unsteady state, the value of the respiration rate measured by published method will be lower than the real one. The new method, in which both fruits and vegetables respiration and package film permeability are considered simultaneously, can be used over the whole storage period including steady and unsteady states. It was proved that the new method could be useful for estimating the physiological change, such as respiration quotient, of fruits and vegetables in MAP under unsteady state.
