Interactive effects of storage temperatures and packaging methods on sweet basil

Abstract

Leafy vegetables were packed into packaging under refrigerated temperature in order to prolong its shelf life. When the temperature and packaging approaches are not in optimum condition to the vegetables, the freshness of vegetables will be affected and indirectly increase food wastes. The aim of this project is to study the combined effect of temperature and packaging methods on basil through evaluating its weight loss, chlorophyll content and vitamin C content. The basil was germinated, growth and harvested randomly in a total of 13 weeks and packed and stored under six different conditions (4°C with perforated packaging; 4°C with non-perforated packaging; 20°C with perforated packaging; 20°C with non-perforated packaging; 30°C with perforated and 30°C with non-perforated packaging). Experimental results shown that storage of sweet basil in perforated packaging, at 4°C provided minimum loss weight and maximum chlorophyll and vitamin C retained. In future, a well-planned vegetable freshness index can be proposed to evaluate the freshness by its weight, chlorophyll content, and vitamin C content.