Sorbitol increases shelf life of fresh mushrooms stored in conventional packages

Trays containing 100g of mushrooms overwrapped with PVC film were held at 12 degrees C. Two 3 mm holes were made on top of the overwrap for ventilation and a Tyvek(R) pouch containing sorbitol was placed at the bottom of the tray before storage. Surface moisture content of mushrooms decreased in the presence of sorbitol. Mushrooms packaged with 10g sorbitol had a constant surface moisture content and those packaged with 15g sorbitol had the best overall color. Principal component analysis of Vis-NIR spectra revealed that surface moisture content affected the scattering of incident light and mushroom color. Lowering of the in-package relative humidity did not affect the maturation rate of mushrooms, but reduced bacterial growth, suggesting that improvement in color was probably due to reduced bacterial activity.