The primary focus of postharvest fruit packaging is to preserve freshness, appearance, flavor, texture, and nutritional value in order to meet the rising consumer demands for safe food. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) plays a significant role in controlling the fruit's environment, regulating gas exchange, reducing moisture loss, delaying ripening, preventing microbial spoilage, and extending shelf-life. MAP typically lowers oxygen levels while increasing carbon dioxide to slow down respiration and ripening, with specific gas compositions and materials tailored for different fruits. Active MAP delivers the desired gas composition faster by flushing with a controlled gas mixture, while passive MAP modifies gas composition naturally via fruit respiration and microbial activity. There is a significant opportunity to enhance the postharvest quality of fruits by integrating MAP with other preservation techniques such as the addition of natural extracts, melatonin, 1-methylcyclopropene, intense pulsed light, pulsed electric fields, active packaging and nanopackaging to further elevating the fruit's quality. As research advances, these innovations could lead to more efficient food distribution systems and improved access to safe and nutritious food.
Neo et al. (2025) studied this question.