Short-Term Storage in a Modified Atmosphere Affects the Chemical Profile of Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) Fruit

Abstract

Short-term modified-atmosphere storage with an adjusted CO2 and/or O2 concentration could recover blueberry fruit infested with the larvae of quarantine pests. However, this could significantly affect the fruit quality. In our experiment we investigated the performance of highbush blueberry ‘Bluecrop’ fruit (firmness, peel color, individual phenolics, sugars, and organic acids) under four short-term storage regimes: (1) a regular atmosphere with 0.03% CO2, 21% O2, and 78% N2 at 22 °C, i.e., the control; (2) a regular atmosphere with 0.03% CO2, 21% O2, and 78% N2 at 2 °C; (3) a modified atmosphere with 10% CO2, 5% O2, and 85% N2 at 2 °C; and (4) a modified atmosphere with 100% CO2 at 2 °C. Fruit sampling took place after 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h. Fruit firmness was not significantly altered by storage regime or duration, while some significant, but minor, changes were detected in the color parameters. Regarding the primary metabolites, the sugar/organic acid ratio stagnated in the first 48 h in all storage regimes. The content of the majority of the individual phenolics was significantly higher in the fruit stored under control conditions. From our results, we can conclude that the short-term storage of highbush blueberry ‘Bluecrop’ fruit for 24 h in a cold atmosphere does not affect the phenolic content, and storage for 48 h does not affect the total sugar/organic acid ratio, regardless of the atmosphere composition.