Respiration Rate Modeling of Sugar Palm Fruit (Arenga pinnata) in Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP)

Sugar palm fruit (Arenga pinata) is a tropical fruit. The traditional methods of postharvest handling and storage
limit market distribution. An alternative approach to extend the shelf life of sugar palm fruit is by applying the
Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP). Storage room temperature and packaging thickness can affect the quality
of a fresh product, as indicated by the respiration rate (CO
2 production). This research aimed to analyze the
respiration rate in MAP and build a model of respiration rates based on storage temperatures (5,15, and 28ºC) and packaging thickness (30,50 and 80 μm) of Low-density Polyethylene (LDPE). Permeability values of CO2 were found to be 13205.4; 8390.1; and 5260.8 cm³/m²-d-0.1 MPa for packaging thicknesses of 30, 50 and 80 μm, respectively. The highest respiration rate of 8.61 mL/kg-hour was observed at 28ºC storage room temperature using a 30 μm packaging thickness. While the lowest respiration rate was 1.97 mL/kg-hour stored at 5 ºC by 80 μm packaging thickness. Storage room temperature had a significant impact on the respiration rate of sugar palm fruit in MAP. A high temperature of storage room and a thin packaging or a high permeability value provided the highest respiration rate. Both storage temperature and packaging thickness significantly affected the respiration rate of CO2 production in sugar palm fruit using MAP (p<0.05). Arrhenius and polynomial regression equations have been successfully used to study the effect.