Packaging is important for every material which is to be saved for later. for crops, it is inevitable. so here are some of the basic and common ways the perishable crops like vegetables are packaged

1. Methods of packaging in
vegetables

2. Some facts
India:
•The largest producer of fruits (46 million
tones) with a global share of over 10%
•The second largest producer of
vegetables (80 million tones) with a
global share of over 15%.
•About 20 to 30% of the produce is lost
annually due to lack of adequate
infrastructure and less use of modern post
harvest technologies.

3. Why packaging?
• Horticultural produce has limited shelf life of a few hours
to few weeks at ambient conditions.
• Packaging is required for food preservation, protection and
for safe transportation of products during storage and
handling.

5. Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)
• A technique used for prolonging the shelf-life of fresh
foods.
• The air surrounding the food in the package is changed to
another composition.
• MAP is used with various types of products. The mixture of
gases in the package depends on the type of product,
packaging materials and storage temperature.

6. Equilibrium modified atmosphere packaging
(EMAP)
• Among fresh-cut produce EMAP is the most commonly
used packaging technology.
• When packaging vegetables and fruits the gas atmosphere
of package is of a lowered level of O2 and a heightened
level of CO2.
• This kind of package slows down the normal respiration of
the product to prolong its shelf-life

7. MAP & EMAP

8. Concerns
• The main characteristics to consider for selecting
packaging films are
– gas permeability
– water vapour transmission rate
– mechanical properties
– transparency
– type of package
– sealing reliability
• Fruits and vegetables are respiring products, hence need to
transmit gases through the film, called permeable films
• Treat MAP foods as if it were fresh

9. Shrink wrap packaging
• Shrink wrap (shrink film) is a material made up of polymer
plastic film.
• On heating, it shrinks tightly over whatever it is covering.
Heat can be applied with a hand held heat gun (electric or
gas) or the product and film can pass through a heat tunnel
on a conveyor.
• Benefits include prolonged shelf life, protection from the
environment, and convenient-to-prepare.
• Advances in shrink film technology has made
microwaveable films common in retail-ready vegetable
packaging such as microwavable shrink wrapped potatoes.

11. Vacuum packaging
• It is a method of packaging that removes air from the
package prior to sealing.
• It involves placing items in a plastic film package, removing
air from inside, and sealing the package.
• The intent is usually remove oxygen from the container to
extend the shelf life of foods and, with flexible package
forms, to reduce the volume of the contents and package

13. Advantages of Packaging
• Protection from oxygen.
• Positive control of the moisture content of the product.
• Inhibits the growth of aerobic spoilage bacteria.
• Longer shelf life for goods.
• Larger quantities of food can be purchased and kept over a
longer period of time and bulk purchases are often cheaper.
• Reduces the post harvest losses.