Prepacking and Shelf Life of Mushrooms

Mushrooms covered with the PVC film Resinite in a Hartmann Foodtainer dish had a shelf life of 5 to 7 days when stored at 15° to 21°C. Uncovered mushrooms had a shelf life of 2 to 4 days under similar conditions. Treatment of mushrooms with solutions of antioxidants followed by prepackaging with Resinite gave a shelf life of only 3 to 5 days. The shear press and reflectometer were found suitable for measuring texture and whiteness of mushrooms. Toughness of covered and uncovered mushrooms increased over a 5-day period. Uncovered mushrooms lost 31.6 percent of their original whiteness after 4 days while covered mushrooms lost 18.8 percent. The corresponding moisture losses were 68.3 and 10.8 percent.