Active air flushing in a sensor-controlled fresh produce container system to maintain the desired modified atmosphere

• Active air flushing in response to O2 concentration in produce container was implemented.
• The active system effectively controlled the container atmosphere at any temperature.
• The container with the controlled modified atmosphere was better at preserving the spinach quality.

Modified atmosphere (MA) containers equipped with an on/off-controlled perforation that can respond to real-time gas concentrations can contribute to maintaining the quality of fresh produce. In this study, an active flushing system was devised to flush the air promptly responding to the real-time O2 concentration, and its capability to maintain the target O2 level was compared to that of an O2 switched passive diffusion tube system. A model container with dimensions of 32 × 23 × 18 cm was filled with 350 g spinach and submitted to storage testing under different control regimes and temperatures. The gas concentration in the spinach container was programmed to stay either exactly at 11% or in the range of 11–13%. While the O2 switched passive diffusion tube system could properly control the O2 concentration in the container at the desired level or range when the container was at the low temperature of 10 °C, it could not do so at 20 °C, resulting in O2 concentrations that were too low and CO2 concentrations that were too high. The active flushing system was effective and satisfactorily controlled the gas concentration in the container at the desired level or range at both 10 and 20 °C. Compared to the O2 switched passive diffusion tube system, the active flushing system was more prompt in its response to deviating atmospheric conditions, which was more pronounced in the range control mode. The container with the controlled MA was better at preserving the quality of the produce compared to a perforated control package.