title: Freshness maintenance of cherries ready for consumption using convenient, microperforated, bio-based packaging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current consumer demand for high-quality ready-to-eat fresh fruit in convenient bio-based packaging was met utilizing sanitized stem-free sweet cherries and a polylactic acid (PLA) cup with a PLA peelable microperforated lid. The newly developed packaging system was compared with the petroleum-based macroperforated bag currently used for retail.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After 27 days of storage at 1 °C, the PLA package maintained the cherry firmness, compared with a 50% reduction of the controls. No fungal decay was detected in the cherries stored in PLA, while the controls were non-marketable after 21 days. The PLA package allowed minimal weight loss (0.8%), compared with a weight loss of approximately 16% in the controls. Differences in the cherry aroma, color, acidity, soluble solids content, pH and quality index were also caused by the packaging type. A consumer sensory evaluation showed that cherries stored in PLA packages were more acceptable than those of the controls for appearance, texture, flavor and overall acceptability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The new package matched both the consumer demand for high-quality fresh fruit ready for consumption in convenient bio-based packaging and the extended fruit marketability and consumer satisfaction desired by industry.
authors.affiliation: School of Packaging, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1223, USA.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koutsimanis
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harte
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Almenar
mesh_terms: D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D057140:Fast Foods / Q000032:analysis* / Q000382:microbiology; D018857:Food Packaging; D005518:Food Preferences; D063427:Food Quality; D061353:Food Storage; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D005658:Fungi / Q000254:growth & development; D006244:Hardness; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D008824:Michigan; D009812:Odorants; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000378:metabolism; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D016062:Porosity; D000068220:Prunus avium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D012034:Refrigeration; D012677:Sensation; D013649:Taste
chemical_list: D010860:Pigments, Biological; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D019344:Lactic Acid; C033616:poly(lactide)
keywords: aroma; microperforated bio-based packaging; sensory evaluation; shelf life; stem-free cherries