Active cardboard box with smart internal lining based on encapsulated essential oils for enhancing the shelf life of refrigerated fresh nectarines

  1. María Ros Chumillas 1
  2. Laura Buendía Moreno 1
  3. María José Sánchez Martínez 1
  4. Vera Antolinos 1
  5. Laura Navarro Segura 1
  6. Ginés Benito Martínez Hernández 1
  7. Antonio López Gómez 1
  1. 1 Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena
    info

    Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena

    Cartagena, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02k5kx966

Proceedings:
X Congreso Ibérico y VIII Congreso Iberoamericano de Ciencias y Técnicas del Frío. CYTEF 2020

Year of publication: 2020

Type: Conference paper

Abstract

Whole fresh fruits as nectarine are normally sold in bulk and refrigerated (≈2-4 °C,85-90 % RH) in open cardboard boxes with alveoli reaching a relatively short shelf-life of 12-15 days. The common physiological/pathological disorders of nectarines during postharvest life are rot, dehydration, and internal breakdown. Therefore, it was developed the concept of active cardboard container for this product, to improve the freshness and shelf-life and to some extent alleviate these quality problems. Active cardboard boxes were developed in our laboratories incorporating essential oils (EOs) encapsulated inβ-cyclodextrin in the water-based acrylic emulsion applied on the cardboard surface. The nectarine quality was better preserved with the active boxes for more than 25 days, with a reduction of dehydration and decay when compared with the conventional cardboard boxes. Contrary, the sensory quality (mainly due to flavour and texture) of nectarines packaged in conventional cardboard trays was of 14-15 days.