Effect of Vacuum and Modified Atmosphere Packaging on the Postharvest Quality and Shelf Life of

Date Fruits in Khalal Stage

Abstract :

Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a berry fruit that can be consumed at three stages of its growth and
development, including Khalal, Rutab and Tamar. At the Khalal stage, fruits are physiologically
mature, hard and crisp, and bright yellow or red in color. Date cultivars with a low amount of tannin
and low astringency are suitable for consumption at Khalal stage but due to the high moisture
content, fruits are very perishable with low storage life. In this experiment, the physicochemical
properties of Barhee dates under two storage temperatures (4 and 25ºC) in response to vacuum and
modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) were studied. Fruits were analyzed at three time intervals
after packing (0, 10 and 20 days) and evaluated for quality characteristics: weight loss, flesh firmness,
total soluble solids (TSS), water activity, acidity and appearance. Results showed that fruits in MAP
treatment had less than 1% weight loss, lowest percentage of Rutab fruits (14.7%), highest water
activity (0.957) and low changes in other parameters tested. However, in the vacuum packaging,
weight loss and the amount of crumbled fruits were least but a large portion of the fruit had changed
to Rutab (22.4%) and fruit firmness was significantly reduced (4.9 kg).

INTRODUCTION

Annual date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.) production in Iran is estimated at over 900,000 tons, and
has an important economic and social role in the south of Iran (Anonymous, 2004). Date fruits are
nutritious, being high in carbohydrates, fiber, potassium, certain vitamins and minerals, but are low
in fat, and virtually free from cholesterol and sodium. Dates are berry fruits distinguished from most
other fruits in that they have a botanical maturity in at least 3 distinct maturation stages including
Khalal, Rutab and Tamar. At the Khalal stage, dates are physiologically mature, hard and crisp with
over 50 % moisture content, bright yellow or red in color and very perishable. In general, when dates
reach the Khalal stage, they are ready for trading as "fresh" fruit but this applies only to those
varieties which are sweet, with a low amount of tannin and low astringency (Barreveld, 1993). The
most important date cultivars suitable for marketing at Khalal stage are ‘Barhee’, ‘Bereim’, ‘Hayany’
and ‘Khalas’ (Kashani, 1992; Glasner, 2002).

Of these cultivars, ‘Barhee’ is the most important variety suitable for marketing at Khalal stage both
worldwide and in Iran and neighboring countries. Harvesting dates takes place from the end of July
with the harvesting of the Khalal varieties, especially Barhee. This cultivar provides the first fruit for
local markets (Kashani, 1992; Pezhman, 2001). Due to its high moisture content, Khalal fruits are very
perishable so they must be transported as soon as possible to ensure that the fruit reaches
customers in an unripe state (Glasner, 2002). Any delay in transport or improper storage conditions
quickly results in fruits at the Rutab stage, or crumbled fruits. These fruits have a low quality and
price and give the grower a low rate of return. Most Barhee fruit is harvested at Khalal stage and
information is required on perishability of fruits and packaging methods in order to prolong the shelf
life of fruit (Mortazavi, 2005).
Vacuum packaging (VP) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) are now being used to extend
shelf-life and reduce the wastage of a wide range of fruits and vegetables. In the VP and MAP
packaging systems, the gas mixture surrounding fruits in the package is changed. Elevated
concentrations of CO2 and reduced levels of O2 inside the package have benefits including reduced
respiration, ethylene production and sensitivity to ethylene, retarded softening and reduced decay
(Kader et al., 1989). Depletion of O2 and elevation of CO2 within the package can be achieved
passively by respiration or actively by flushing a desired mixture of gases into the package (Zagory
and Kader, 1988; Ballantyne et al., 1988). Passive MAP relies on the respiration of the commodity to
consume the O2 in a sealed bag and replace it with CO2, a byproduct of normal aerobic respiration.
The bag itself restricts the movement of gases in and out of the sealed package due to its selective
permeability to O2 and CO2. Over time, the system achieves equilibrium with the O2 lower than that
found in the air (20.9%) and the CO2 concentration higher than that in the air (0.03%). Active MAP
introduces a desired gas mixture into the bag prior to sealing, thereby accelerating the process of
achieving an equilibrium atmosphere. Vacuum packaging draws a slight vacuum prior to sealing the
bag, thereby reducing the headspace in the bag, and accelerating the process of achieving an
equilibrium atmosphere (Zagory and Kader, 1988). However, there are no reports about use of
vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging for date fruits at Khalal stage. Al-Redhaiman (2004)
exposed full mature ´Barhee´ date fruits to modified atmosphere storage conditions with three
carbon dioxide concentrations (5, 10 or 20%) during cold storage (0°C). His results showed that fruits
stored at 0°C under 20% CO2 had a significantly longer storage period (lasted for 26 weeks) than all
other treatments (i.e. 5 and 10% CO2 which lasted for 17 weeks) and the control (lasted for 7 weeks).
Moreover, fruit stored under MA conditions showed lower decay and weight loss percentage. The
influence of vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging with injection of a gas mixture of 20% CO2
and 80% N2 on storage ability of ‘Deglet Nour’ dates at Tamar stage showed that vacuum and
modified atmosphere packaging decreased date dehydration during storage (Achour, 2003). The
present study was undertaken to ascertain the response of vacuum and passive modified
atmospheric packaging on the shelf life and physicochemical properties of Barhee date fruits at
Khalal stage at two storage temperatures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fruits of ‘Barhee’ date cultivar at Khalal stage were purchased from the local market during August,
2005 and after quick precooling, fruits were transported to the laboratory on the same day. Any
damaged fruits, crumbled fruits and fruits with Rutab spots were removed and the healthy fruits of
uniform size and appearance were washed and randomly distributed into groups of 20 fruits for
specific packaging treatments. Soon after harvesting, fruits were analyzed for quality properties.

The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design (CRD). Fruits were packed
using three replications of 20 uniform fruits in low density polyethylene (LDPE) bags (ZIP KIP®, Iran)
and were kept in a HENKELMAN vacuum pack instrument (200A) and were sealed to ensure vacuum
and passive MAP packages. The control fruits were placed in corrugated cardboard boxes without
polyethylene bags. To study the effects of storage temperature on quality and shelf life of date fruits
at Khalal stage, packaged and control fruits were subdivided into two sets and stored at two storage
temperatures (4ºC and 25ºC). Quality parameters were evaluated on days 0, 10 and 20 after
packaging. The data were analyzed with MSTAT-C (version 1.42) statistical package, and means
compared by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at 0.01 and 0.05 probability levels. Major quality
characteristics were studied including titratable acidity, °Brix, pH, firmness, water activity, weight loss
and percentage of Rutab and crumbled fruits. Titratable acidity was calculated as percentage of
mailic acid by titrating 25g/200mL of the date extract with a solution of NaOH (0.1N) at pH 8.1. The
pH was measured by a Metrohm pH meter, model 744 (Switzerland). The level of sugars was
measured as °Brix by a A.Krüss Optronic GmbH refractometer (Germany). Water activity was
measured with a Novasina AW SPRINT (TH 800) instrument and firmness measured with a Wagner
pressure tester.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figures 1 to 6 show the effect of packaging treatments (vacuum, passive MAP and control), storage
temperature (4ºC and 25ºC) and storage period (0, 10 and 20 days) on the evaluated quality
characters. The physicochemical properties of fruits had different responses to experimental
treatments. There was no significant effect of package type and storage temperature on water
activity (aw) of fruits; however, with increase in storage period, aw was decreased (Fig. 1). Water
activity is an important quality factor for dates. It decreases gradually during growth and
development of date fruit (author unpublished) and reaches its highest point in Khalal stage (aw
more than 0.95). Water activity is the ratio of the partial vapor pressure of water in equilibrium with
a fruit texture to the partial saturation vapor pressure of water vapor in the air at the same
temperature. The water activity describes the energy state of water in the food, and hence high
water content of fruit texture results in a high aw (Fontana, 2000). The correlation between fruit
water content and its water activity shows that a decrease in aw resulted in a significant weight loss
of fruit. It seems that if water activity is lower than 0.95, fruits undergo a high weight loss and
become crumbly.

A gradual increase in pH from 5.8 to 6.4 was seen during the storage period of 20 days (Fig. 2).
Samples that were stored at 4ºC temperature and passive MAP had less increase (0.1) in pH during
storage. Fruit juice pH is affected by alkaline and acidic compounds of fruit cells and any change in
concentration of these compounds will changed the pH quickly (Wills, 1998). Most common pH
values for dates range from 5.3 to 6.3. In addition a definite correlation was observed between
increasing pH and commercial quality for Deglet Noor dates (Barreveld, 1993).

With prolonged storage period, titratable acidity of fruits increased significantly (102.3 to 141.1
mg/100g), although passive MAP packaging (114.9 mg/100g) and storage at 4ºC (113.8 mg/100g)
were the most effective in maintaining the titratable acidity of fruits during the storage period (Fig.
3). Organic acids are a useful index of authenticity in fruit products (Camara et al., 1994). The organic
acid composition of fruits is also of interest because of its influence on the sensory properties of
fruits, even though they are minor components of fruits, in combination with sugars (Wang et al.,
1993). Major organic acids that have been isolated from date flesh are citric-, malic- and oxalic acid,
however, generally during growth and maturation of date fruit the acid content tends to go down.
Upon storage, and more specifically at the onset of deterioration, second generation organic acids
are formed (Barreveld, 1993). This report supports our experimental data that with increasing
storage period titratable acidity increased from 102.3 to 141.1 mg/100g of fruit flesh.
Firmness of fruits was significantly affected by type of packaging and storage temperature. Date
fruits at Khalal stage had a hard and crisp texture. When they changed to Rutab, fruit firmness
decreased. In the present study, treatments that caused minimum change to Rutab had fruits with
maximum firmness. Fruits in the passive MAP treatment, when stored at 4ºC, had the highest
firmness (5.8 kg and 5.6 respectively), and in all treatments, increased storage duration, gradually
decreased firmness (7.1 to 3.3 kg during 20 days). Khalal fruits that lose their hard and crisp texture
have reduced quality and attract lower prices. Softening of fruit texture is related to activation of
pectin decomposing enzymes such as poly galactronase (PG) which hydrolyses α (1-4) linkage
between galactronic acid residues in pectins (Wills, 1998). Changed gas mixture surrounding fruits
under modified atmosphere packaging caused slowing enzymatic reactions of fruits such as softening
(Kader et al., 1989).

TSS was increased in all treatments except in the passive MAP packaging stored at 4ºC (Fig. 5). TSS is
one of the most important maturity and quality indices in many fruits. In general, soluble solid
content of date fruits at Khalal stage should be in excess of 30%. With increased fruit development,
TSS significantly increases (Behbahani, 2003). Fully mature Khalal fruits gradually changed to low
quality Rutab fruits. The percentage of Rutab fruits at the 3 evaluation times (0, 10 and 20 days) were
0, 18.9 and 44.3%, respectively (Fig. 5). There was a direct correlation between stage of growth and
fruit soluble solids content. In all treatments, as storage period increased, higher proportions of fruits
changed to Rutab and TSS was increased from 29.1 to 39.9 % by 20 days storage (Fig. 5). Lesser
increases in TSS and Rutab% were observed in the passive MAP treatment stored at 4ºC (32.1 and
32.2 %, respectively) suggesting that in these treatments, enzymatic reactions interfering in fruit
softening and senescence were retarded. This result was consistent with the report of Kader et al.
(1989) for several fruits and vegetables.

In all packaging and at all storage temperatures percentage of crumbled fruits and weight loss
significantly increased with increased storage time, (Fig. 6). Fruits at Khalal stage have high water
content and active metabolism so unfavorable factors that cause water evaporation from fruits,
increase weight loss and percentage crumbled fruits. In the control fruits (without packaging) stored
at 25ºC, fruits had highest weight loss (7.52 and 4.1%, respectively) and crumbled fruits (9.5 and
5.1%, respectively). By contrast, in packaged fruits (passive MAP and vacuum), less than 1% crumbed
fruits and weight loss were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The present work is the first study on the shelf life of date fruits at Khalal stage in Iran. The results
showed that package type and storage temperature had significant effects on quality characteristics
and shelf life of date fruits. Of all the studied treatments, passive MAP packaging resulted in the best
maintenance of quality characters that were measured. It is possible that fruit respiration changed
the gas mixture inside the MAP package, elevated CO2 concentration and reduced O2 levels, thereby
retarding fruit metabolism. Vacuum packages had minimum weight loss and percent crumbled fruits
but percentage of Rutab and fruit softening was higher, so this package type is not recommended for
Khalal dates. Storage of Khalal dates under low temperatures e.g. storage in a refrigerator would
retard metabolic reactions, respiration rate and ethylene production and help to prolong shelf life of
the fruit.
Some micro-organism contamination was observed in the passive MAP packages stored at 25ºC,
however the type of bacteria or fungus that cause contamination was not identified. It seems that
high humidity and temperature activate the spores of fungus that are present in the surface of the
fruits. This type of microbial contamination was not observed until 15 days after storage