Quality Curves for Highbush Blueberries as a Function of the Storage Temperature

SUMMARY Blueberries Vaccinium corymbosum cv. Patriot were harvested twice at the full ripe stage and held for 14 d at 0, 5, 10, 15, or 20°C. The objectives of this work were to (1) obtain quality curves for blueberries stored at different temperatures; (2) identify, for each temperature, which quality factor(s) limits blueberry marketability; and (3) compare the quality curves and shelf-life of blueberries based on quality evaluations with those predicted by respiration rates reported in the literature. Blueberry weight loss, instrumental color (L∗a∗b∗), visual color, firmness, shriveling, decay, taste, and aroma were evaluated every 2 d for a 14-day storage period. Development of an unpleasant taste and aroma were the primary limiting factors for blueberries stored at 0 and 5°C. Darkening of the color and development of unpleasant aroma were the primary limiting factors for berries stored at 10 or 15°C, and darkening of the color was the primary limiting factor for those fruit stored at 20°C. Overall, fruit stored at 0 or 5°C had shorter shelf life compared with predicted values based on the Q10 for respiration, while those stored at higher temperatures had longer shelf life. Prediction of blueberry shelf life calculated from data reported in the literature is not precise unless the characteristics of the fruit and environmental factors involved are well known. The quality curves obtained from quality evaluations for each temperature showed that a single quality attribute cannot be used to express loss of quality of blueberries over the normal physiological range of temperatures.