Vol. 8 (1) : January-February 2017 issue
Green Farming Vol. 8 (1) : 250-253 ; January-February, 2017
Selection of appropriate packaging film for modified atmosphere packaging of okra
AKSHI JAINa1, S.R. SHARMAa2, T.C. MITTALa3 and S.K. GUPTAb4*
aDepartment of Processing & Food Engineering, bTraining Unit, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana - 141 004 (Punjab)
Designation : 1M. Tech Student, 2Professor, 3Senior Extension Engineer, 4Professor *(skgupta@pau.edu)
Subject : Food Science, Preservation & Processing, Protectants & Infestation and Post-harvest Technology
Paper No. : P-4945
Total Pages : 4
Received : 10 March 2016
Revised accepted : 19 December 2016
Get Access
Citation :
AKSHI JAIN, S.R. SHARMA, T.C. MITTAL and S.K. GUPTA. 2017. Selection of appropriate packaging film for modified atmosphere packaging of okra. Green Farming Vol. 8 (1) : 250-253 ; January-February, 2017
ABSTRACT
Respiration rate assessment is a necessary process for the creation of a modified atmosphere for the successful post-harvest storage of fruits and vegetables. The study was undertaken on okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) for the selection of appropriate polymeric film of desired physical and gas exchange characteristics. Permeabilities of different polymeric films of variable thickness commercially available were matched with respiration rates of okra at different temperatures. The respiration rate of fresh okra were measured under ambient conditions (32.7±2.5°C, 72±5% RH) and low temperature conditions (10±0.5°C, 95% RH) using closed system approach. By comparing the values of required permeabilities with those of commercially available films viz., LDPE, HDPE and PP; it was found that all the films had lower permeabilities than the required. Out of all the films, LDPE film had the highest permeability. So LDPE film with perforations was selected for packaging okra pods under ambient conditions (32.7±2.5°C, 72±5% RH) and low temperature conditions (10±0.5°C, 95% RH).
Key words :
Okra, Permeability, pCO2 , pO2 , Polymeric films, Respiration rate.
