Influence of Modified Atmosphere Packaging on the Postharvest Quality and Chilling Injury of Tomato Harvested at Different Maturity Stages

The present study was performed to determine effects of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on postharvest quality and chilling injury alleviation of tomatoes during low temperature storage. Tomatoes were harvested at two different stages (breaker and pink stage) and packed with MAP (Xtend® bags MAP). Air stored fruits were considered as control. All samples were stored at 5°C with 90% RH for 21 days. Weight loss, firmness, surface color, lycopene, ascorbic acid, total phenol, total antioxidant activity and chilling injury were investigated with intervals of 7 days. At the end of the storage, MAP of either breaker or pink fruits reduced the weight loss, maintained firmness and exhibited less biochemical changes than the control fruit. Moreover, tomatoes stored in MAP have less chilling injury than control at breaker maturity stage. The onset of chilling injury was also delayed by packaging compared to nonpackaged fruits. The general qualities of MAP fruits were better than those of air stored fruits. Overall findings indicate that MAP can be an effective method for enhancing the phytochemical content, delaying the senescence and chilling injury of tomatoes at breaker or pink maturity stages during low temperature storage.