Application of Modified Atmosphere Packaging to Extend Pineapple ( Ananas Comosus L.) Shelf Life

The potential of pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) as export commodity both for fresh consumption and for the fruit processing industry has continue to increase. However, fresh pineapple can only be stored for 2-3 days at room temperature after ripening. On the other hand, the export process requires at least 35 days for delivering and retailing period. Long duration and distance is needed for fruit transportation thus it is required a special storage treatment to extend the shelf life. Modified atmosphere packaging has been proven to modify the air around the product to extend shelf life, especially fresh fruit and vegetable. In this study, modified atmosphere packaging technique was applied to whole pineapple using LDPE plastic. The amount of O2 and CO2 at various composition was tested and then the samples were storage at temperature of 7°C, 10°C and 28°C room temperature. The quality of the fruit was determined by the parameter of weight loss (%), hardness (mm/5s) and color. Control, pine apple was package without MAP, showed a significant quality deprived. Based on research, the best atmospheric composition to extend the shelf life of fresh pineapple was 1-3 % O2 and 5-10 % CO2 at 10 °C storage temperature. This condition gave a slow decrease in quality such as the weight loss was about 0.0296 %, the hardness value was 0.0393 mm/second and the organoleptic test was still under consumer's acceptance.