Condition of film wrapped "Fairchild" fruits held in shelf-life conditions

"Fairchild" mandarins were washed with water or treated with imazalil (250) ppm, then were left un-wrapped or sealed in polystyrene trays using two polyolefinic films (MR 19 μm or MY 20 μm) with different permeability characteristics. Soon after fruits were stored at room temperature (19-20°C) and 70-75% relative humidity for 8 weeks. Inspections were carried out after 4 weeks or 8 weeks. Both the films were very effective in reducing weight losses, shrinking of the peel and in maintaining freshness of the fruits. Wrapped fruit had the highest losses of acidity, total soluble solid and vitamin C, especially those sealed with MY film, the less permeable to gases. In addition, decay was very high in both packed fruits non treated with imazalil. Respiration rate of non treated fruit decreased by the time in storage, and the same trend was revealed for the in-package CO2, in the trays free of rotten fruits, with an average of about 4% and 12% for MR and MY film, respectively. The best results were obtained in the thesis where fruits wrapped with MR film were previously treated with imazalil.