Modeling Botrytis cinerea spores growth in carbon dioxide enriched atmospheres

This study simulates the conditions in which Botrytis may appear in a modified atmosphere packed horticulture product, such as strawberry, so as to elaborate a predictive model that could allow us to estimate the shelf-life of a contaminated food product in such atmosphere conditions (0 to 40% CO2). The estimated shelf-lives obtained at 18 degreesC were 92, 164, and 236 h in storage atmospheres of 0, 10, and 20% CO2, respectively, very close to observed values; no growth was observed above 30% CO2. The elaborated predictive model allows us to: (a) control development of this fungi if the food product is maintained in an atmosphere containing more than 20% CO2 and (b) predict the time taken for potential colonies to become visible (3 mm dia) and, thus, cause immediate rejection by consumers.