Quality Changes in Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) due to Their Packaging Materials during Their Storage

Mushrooms have a shorter shelf-life than most vegetables because of their very high respiration rates, sensitivity to enzymatic browning and susceptibility to microbial spoilage. This study was conducted to investigate effects of various packaging materials and precooling on the quality of mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). Mushrooms were precooled at for three hours and packaged using the following packaging materials; 1) polyethylene (PE) film bags of 0.03 mm thickness, 2) polypropylene (PP) film bags of 0.03 mm thickness, and 3) polystyrene (PS) tray+polyvinyl chloride (PVC) wrapper. The physiological changes (weight loss, gas composition, color, firmness, and sensory evaluation) associated with postharvest deterioration were monitored for 17 days at . The results showed that the PP film bag maintained quality of mushrooms most effectively, especially PP film bags inhibited decreasing firmness. The samples also exhibited smaller decreases in weight loss rate (0.57%) and Hunter L value (84.44) than PS tray+PVC wrapper (7.73%, 82.19) and PE film bags (0.89%, 82.96). Sensory evaluation level in all samples remained relatively constant during the first 5 days of storage. However, PE film bags and PS tray+PVC wrapper showed lower score of flavor, texture and color than PP film bags after 8 days of storage. This study suggested that PP film bag packaging effectively extends shelf-life of mushrooms during storage.