Evaluation of Shrink-Wrap Packaging for Maintaining Quality of Apples

Changes in quality of unwrapped and shrink-wrapped Starkrimson cultivar apples were monitored during a 38-week storage period (26°C, 40-42% relative humidity). Shrink-wrapped apples were subjectively judged to have acceptable qualities throughout storage. Changes in Gardner a and b values for skin color of apples suggest that shrink-wrap film allows accumulation of ethylene which stimulates yellow color development in less mature apples. Observations indicate that top quality apples benefit from shrink-wrapping, with loss of crispness being the primary limiting factor to extended storage life.