Storage Division

Each plant product has a metabolism of its own. Therefore fruit is alive and breathes, thus consuming oxygen, not only while growing in the field, but even also it is harvested. Its respiration process involves the breakdown and oxidation of carbohydrates such as sugars and acids, which are stored in the plant’s tissues. The end products of breathing are: heat, carbon dioxide, water vapor and some aromatic compounds. The faster a fruit breathes, the faster it “ages”, thus shortening its “storage life”. For a long time, refrigeration was the only method used to keep fruit and vegetables fresh. It was not until 1821 that Berard, a plant physiology researcher, discovered that fruit stored in a low oxygen environment had a slower metabolism. At the beginning of the 20th century, researchers Kidd and West scientifically defined the concepts of Controlled Atmosphere storage, but CA only became available on the market at the end of the ‘50s, simultaneously in Europe and in the US. Both reducing the storage room’s oxygen level and raising its carbon dioxide level, significantly lower the product’s respiratory activity. Controlled Atmosphere, combined with lower temperatures, acts more in depth in the metabolism of plants, for example by reducing the fruit’s production of ethylene, by blocking the breakdown of chlorophyll (the green color), by delaying the pectin hydrolysis (that affects the firmness of the pulp), and by slowing the breakdown of vitamins and acids. From a commercial point of view, this not only maintains the organoleptic properties of the products but also reduces losses due to pathogens (fungi) and to common plant disorders such as common and senescent scald and cold damage in general.