Effect of perforation mediated MAP on shelf life of mushroom (Volvariella volvacea)

- The feasibility of PM-MAP and CaCl2 treatment was studied for extending the shelf life of paddy straw mushroom.
- PM-MAP effectively increased the shelf life of paddy straw mushroom to 6 days at 12 °C as compared to 1-2 days for control.
- The firmness of both the cap and stem was better maintained with the pre-treated as well as untreated samples in 20 and 40 perforation packs.
- Total phenolics and antioxidants of treated sample in 40 perforation packs would be preferred.
- TBC of 278.00(±24.76) × 105 cfu/g for treated samples in 40 perforation packs on the 8th day was acceptable.

The feasibility of perforation mediated packaging was studied for extending the shelf life of paddy straw mushroom. Mushrooms were kept in packages both as untreated and treated with CaCl2 to see the effect of CaCl2 on mushroom in the MAP. The area of perforations were kept as 0, 3.4 × 10−4, 6.8 × 10−4 and 1.02 × 10−3% (0, 20, 40 and 60 perforations) in a package size of 175 mm × 110 mm. In addition, mushroom samples were also kept in similar packages with large holes so as to maintain atmospheric air composition in the packages, which served as control. It was observed that perforation mediated MAP effectively increased the shelf life of paddy straw mushroom to 6 days at 12(±1) °C as compared to 1-2 days for control. The firmness of both the cap and stem was better maintained with the pre-treated as well as untreated samples in 20 and 40 perforation packs. In terms of final total phenolics and antioxidants, the CaCl2 treated sample stored in 40 perforation packs would be preferred. In terms of final total protein content, even though the CaCl2 treated samples in 40 perforation packs were the best, still there was no significant difference between any of the samples kept in either 20 or 40 perforation packages. In terms of total bacterial count, the treated samples in 40 perforation packs were the best with a TBC of 278.00(±24.76) × 105 cfu/g on the 8th day, which was acceptable. The untreated samples in general showed higher TBC than the CaCl2 treated samples. It is recommended that the paddy straw mushroom should be treated with CaCl2 (0.5%) and stored in 40 perforation packages in the specific package size at 12(±1) °C for extending the shelf life up to 6 days. Furthermore, this developed technology will solve some of the limitations that mushroom producers and processors find nowadays for processing and distribution to maintain stable quality throughout the storage period.