Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) with Ethylene Scrubbing Can Allow Marine Transport with Extended Durations for Tree-ripe Mangos Exported from South America to the United States

Long-distance transoceanic shipment from mango production areas is a major limitation for mango export/import potential within the international transport and marketing system. Modified atmosphere (MA) packaging (MAP) technology with or without ethylene scrubbing within existing mango international transport and marketing systems was evaluated as an approach to allow availability of tree-ripe mangos with desired quality for consumers in the destination countries. We recently reported that tree-ripe mangos (stage 3.0–3.5 on a 1 to 5 unripe to fully ripe scale) can be stored at as low as 7 °C for 5 weeks without showing chilling injury (CI) symptoms or deterioration of fruit internal quality, especially when stored under controlled atmosphere/MA (CA/MA) conditions (4–6 kPa O 2 plus 5–10 kPa CO 2 ). Thus, in laboratory tests, BreatheWay ® MAP and RYPEN™ ethylene control systems were custom-designed for us by the companies [for the standard nine-fruit, 4.5-kg net weight box (MAP–1) ± RYPEN™ ethylene control (RY1), 2 fruit pouch bag (MAP–2) ± RYPEN™ ethylene control (RY2), and four-fruit pouch bag (MAP–3) ± RYPEN™ ethylene control (RY3)] to evaluate its effect on fruit quality and storage life of tree-ripe ‘Tommy Atkins’ and ‘Kent’ mangos during 7 °C storage with 95% relative humidity (RH) for 32 days plus 4 days of shelf life at 20 °C with 95% RH. In a follow-up laboratory test, fruit sensory quality and storage life were assessed when the BreatheWay ® MAP–1 (± RY1) remained either sealed or open during the shelf-life period following storage for 32 days. For marine shipping tests (from Brazil and Peru to the United States), BreatheWay ® MAP–1 (± RY1) was evaluated for its effect on quality and storage life of tree-ripe ‘Tommy Atkins’ and ‘Kent’ during 4 weeks of combined shipping and storage at 9 °C with 95% RH plus a 3- to 4-day shelf-life period at 20 °C with 95% RH. The MAP attained gas atmospheres (average values for both cultivars of 6 kPa O 2 + 9 kPa CO 2 in the laboratory tests and 6 kPa O 2 + 12 kPa CO 2 in the sea shipping tests) that were similar to the beneficial atmospheres we identified in the preliminary CA tests. Overall, the MAP–1 and ethylene scrubbing (RY1) resulted in desired quality attributes (reduced CI and lenticel discoloration, plus higher fruit firmness and titratable acidity, and better organoleptic traits including mango aroma, texture, and overall eating quality) of tree-ripe mangos of both cultivars during ambient temperature (20 °C) shelf life. No differences in fruit sensory quality were found when the MAP–1 (± RY1) was either sealed or open during shelf-life period at 20 °C. Taken together, MAP and ethylene scrubbing, alone or in combination, slowed down the ripening processes including softening, color change, and losses of sugars and acids, whereas sensory panelists rated the treated fruit as exhibiting higher overall eating quality compared with the control fruit, which were overripe. These findings lead us to recommend BreatheWay ® MAP and RYPEN™ technology or their equivalents for long-distance shipments with extended durations (up to 4 weeks) if the goal is to import/export tree-ripe mangos.