Quality of Fungicide Treated and Individually Shrink-Wrapped Tomatoes

Fungicide-treated mature green and pink tomatoes were individually shrink-wrapped with plastic films and stored at 13°C and 18°C. Shrink-wrapped pink tomatoes lost less water than unwrapped tomatoes, but there were no significant shelf-life or quality differences. The shelf-life of mature green tomatoes at 18°C, however, was increased 10 days by shrink-wrapping. Color development of wrapped mature green tomatoes at 18°C was delayed. Wrapped fruit at both temperatures were firmer than the controls. Titratable acidities and soluble solids of wrapped fruit were lower than those of the unwrapped fruit at 13°C, while no significant changes were observed in citric acid or monosaccharide concentrations. The differences in titratable acidities and soluble solids in the wrapped and unwrapped fruit stored at 18°C were not significant.