Thermally buffered corrugated packaging for preserving the postharvest freshness of mushrooms (Agaricus bispours)

This research successfully developed a novel thermally buffered package using a paraffin-based thermo regulating material (5 degrees C) microencapsulated in melamine powder (MMP). MMP was used to coat a poly textile, and the results were compared with those of a commercially available TRM (temperature regulating material), i.e., tetradecane. The major real-world difficulty of containing the liquid phase was overcome in this study via microencapsulation. A corrugated package constructed of MMP poly-textile and lined with LDPE bag liners containing 400 g of MMP provided a sufficient thermal buffering capacity to maintain the temperature inside the package at 5 degrees C while the package was held at ambient temperature for 30-60 min. A similar experiment with mushrooms (Agaricus bispours) packed inside the thermally buffered package was performed to determine whether it could provide effective thermal buffering during transport and temporary storage. The MMP and MMP-coated poly-textile were characterized using TGA, DSC, SEM, and FFIR to evaluate their thermal, chemical, and morphological properties. The quality of the mushrooms packed into the thermally buffered package was determined by measuring the pH, color, texture, weight loss, and PPO activity. The thermally buffered package, which combines the effects of a pure MMP bag liner and an MMP + poly-textile package, demonstrated excellent ability to control temperature. All of the quality aspects of the mushrooms were within acceptable limits during the storage study. This developed package will solve some of the restrictions faced by mushroom producers and distributers in order to maintain stable quality throughout the storage period. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.