A simplified procedure to determine the respiration rate of minimally processed vegetables in flexible permeable packaging

Knowledge of the oxygen consumption rate is particularly crucial for the pa ckaging of minimally processed vegetables because these products undergo se veral procedures (cutting, washing, drying, mixing) which can significantly affect their respiration rate and consequently their shelf life. For the d ealers and producers of these products, it is important to be able to quick ly and easily measure the respiration rate in order to select packaging or- distribution patterns. This work provides a basis for implementing an itera tive calculation on a computing flow sheet for predicting the evolution of gas composition inside the packages during storage from oxygen consumption rates in air determined with a flow through system. After an experimental v alidation of the computing procedure, it was possible to predict the oxygen respiration rate. The procedure developed seems to have the required featu res for its application in the industry, requiring only a small packaging m achine, a gas analyser and a computer.