International Journal of Engineering Insights: (2024) Vol. 2, Nro.1, Regular Paper

https://doi.org/10.61961/injei.v2i1.14

Analysis of Degradability of Blackberry (Rubus glaucus)

Subjected to Different Storage Conditions

Eduardo Teneda-Ramos · Lorena C´aceres-Miranda · Pedro

Escudero-Villa · Esteban Fuentes-P´erez · Jos´e Varela-Ald´as

Received: 10 Feb 2024 / Accepted: 24 April 2024 / Published: 15 May 2024

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess how

different storage conditions and types of containers af-

polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and poly-

lactic acid (PLA). The findings indicated that refrig-

eration is the most effective strategy for maintaining

the quality of blackberries during storage. This method

significantly preserved the weight and stability of the

fruit, with PLA standing out in this respect. Addition-

ally, a considerable reduction in microbial activity was

observed under refrigeration, with LDPE proving to be

the most effective at inhibiting mold growth. These re-

sults underscore the importance of properly controlling

Refrigeration · Maturity index

Eduardo Teneda-Ramos · Lorena C´aceres-Miranda

Pedro Escudero-Villa

1 Introduction

The growing demand for fresh, high-quality, and long-

lasting foods has significantly boosted research and de-

velopment in this area [1,2]. Fresh fruits and vegeta-

bles, vital sources of vitamins, minerals, and antioxi-

dants, suffer physical and microbial deterioration, caus-

ing losses of up to 30% during post-harvest and stor-

in sugar and acidity levels, see their shelf life reduced

[7]. In other words, the period during which fresh foods

remain suitable for sale and human consumption is lim-

ited [8].

Fruits are classified into two categories based on

their behavior towards ethylene during ripening: cli-

macteric and non-climacteric [9,10]. Climacteric fruits

can continue to ripen after harvest and are capable of

producing ethylene, a gas that triggers biochemical and

physical changes resulting in complete ripening [11,12].

fresh products, with the use of Polyethylene Tereph-

thalate (PET) and Polystyrene (PS) for rigid contain-

ers, and polyolefins for bags, PS for foam trays, and

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) for wraps standing out [14].

All these materials are derived from petroleum poly-

mers [15] and are essential for ensuring product quality

during transport, storage, sale, and use [16]. The pack-

aging industry is currently focused on developing solu-

tions that extend the shelf life of foods, ensuring their

nutritional, microbiological, and organoleptic quality[17,

provides to humans [20,21,22,23]. However, its quality

rapidly deteriorates after harvest, and it has a shelf life

of only 3 to 5 days, with losses that can reach up to 70%

due to its high water content and active metabolism, as

well as its susceptibility to mechanical damage and mi-

crobial attack, requiring special care during storage [24,

25,26,27,28].

Various post-harvest initiatives have been proposed

to improve the conservation of blueberries, raspberries,

and blackberries throughout the entire supply chain

contributed to extending the shelf life of berries, meet-

ing the growing global demand, and improving con-

sumer satisfaction [31,32].

The use of various packaging materials, both bio-

based and petroleum-derived, oriented polylactic acid

(OPLA) and biaxially-oriented polystyrene (OPS), has

been suggested [33] to reduce the mechanical impact

on “Cancaska” and “Chester” blackberry varieties. Al-

though these fruits lost weight, altered their solid con-

tent and pH, their nutritional characteristics, according

ing based on starch with nystatin addition [34,35,36].

This coating has reduced microbial contamination com-

pared to the control blackberries and those coated with

starch only. The starch and starch-nystatin coatings

have proven effective in delaying pH increase, maintain-

ing firmness, and the anthocyanin content of the fruits,

which has improved their market acceptance [37].

With the goal of assessing the degradability of Black-

berry in polymeric packaging, this study experimentally

investigated the fruit’s characteristics under different

environmental and packaging conditions. The effect of

storing the fruit in Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE),

Polypropylene (PP), and Polylactic Acid (PLA) pack-

aging under laboratory and refrigeration conditions was

analyzed. Analyses of the fruit’s physicochemical and

microbiological properties were conducted. The docu-

ment is organized as follows: Section 1 includes the In-

Results, Section 4 the Discussion, and Section 5 the

Conclusions.

2.1 Description of the experiment environment

The Basic Sciences Laboratory at Universidad Indoam´erica

served as the venue for conducting the experiment on

the ripeness index of the Blackberry. This study fo-

cused on assessing the fruit’s response under two differ-

ent storage conditions: in a laboratory setting at 19.0

degrees Celsius with a relative humidity of 59%, and in

a refrigeration chamber at 4 degrees Celsius with a rel-

ative humidity of 97%. These conditions aim to mimic

real storage scenarios, allowing for the analysis of the

fruit’s behavior in both contexts [38,39]. The lighting

2.2 Reception and weighing

For the harvest, Blackberries at ripeness levels 3 and 4

were selected, all of uniform size and free from physical

damage or microbial contamination [40]. These black-

berries were picked during the early hours of the exper-

iment day to ensure their freshness and prevent chemi-

cal or microbiological changes that could influence the

results. The harvesting was conducted by berry pro-

The Blackberry can reach lengths of up to 3.5 cm and

diameters of up to 2.3 cm, with a weight ranging be-

tween 6.1 and 7.8 g. These fruits are generally conical

in shape. The seed, wedge-shaped with a reticulated

surface, measures between 4 and 6 mm in length and

about 2 mm in width. Each fruit contains around 70-

In this research, blackberries in color scale 3 and 4

were used; Figure 3 Ecuatoriana Nte Inen 2204, shows

Figure 5 shows the results of the weight variable ac-

cording to the type of study environment. Under labo-

ratory temperature conditions (19°C), blackberries stored

in LDPE and PLA tend to maintain a higher weight

compared to those stored in PP. However, under refrig-

eration conditions (4°C), the weight differences between

This suggests that refrigeration helps to slow down the

degradation process of the blackberries.

Figure 7 presents the results of the Maturity In-

dex according to the type of study environment. It was

observed that PLA outperformed other materials such

as LDPE and PP in terms of fruit stability, particu-

larly under refrigeration conditions. This suggests that

PLA has effective barrier properties against moisture

and gas loss, which is beneficial for fruit preservation.

At room temperature, LDPE maintained a higher ma-

Figure 8 displays the microbiological results according

to the type of study environment. Optimal storage con-

ditions for blackberries were evaluated in relation to

ature and the type of packaging influence this activity.

At room temperature, the conditions favor the devel-

opment of microbial activity, primarily due to the bar-

rier properties of the polymer used. In contrast, under

refrigeration conditions (4°C), all packaging materials

demonstrated a significant reduction in microbial ac-

4 Discussion

When comparing temperatures, it was found that re-

frigeration (4°C) is more effective for preserving the

quality of blackberries compared to laboratory temper-

ature (19°C). This is due to the reduction in the res-

piration and transpiration rates of the fruit, which is

crucial for non-climacteric fruits that do not experi-

ence a peak in enzymatic activity during ripening [51].

Nonetheless, these enzymatic activities persist and can

influence changes in the texture and flavor of the fruit

vation [54]. At room temperature, although LDPE and

PP had similar performance in weight retention [55],

LDPE maintained a higher maturity index, suggesting

a better ability to delay ripening [56].

The high relative humidity in refrigeration (97%)

cording to the type of packaging and storage environment:

A.) LDPE, B.) PP, C.) PLA.

between the moisture content of the fruit and the en-

vironment, thus reducing transpiration. In summary,

the ideal storage for blackberries depends both on tem-

perature and packaging material. PLA stands out as

the most promising material under controlled refrigera-

tion conditions, while LDPE provides better results at

room temperature [57]. These findings underscore the

to the environment: A.) Environment, B.) Refrigeration.

vironmental factors and packaging type to maximize

by LDPE and PP, due to its barrier properties that

limit moisture and gas transfer, creating a less favor-

able environment for microbial growth [58,10].

In refrigeration (4°C), all materials showed a signif-

to oxygen and water vapor of the different packaging

types can influence the amount of mold present [59,60].

LDPE, being less permeable, provides a more effective

barrier against the entry of mold spores from the out-

side. Although PLA initially shows less mold, it can

become less effective over time due to its greater per-

meability, allowing more spore entry [61,62]. The high

relative humidity in refrigeration helps maintain turgor

and reduce fruit dehydration, decreasing osmotic stress

and, therefore, susceptibility to microbial attack. The

ment: A.) Environment, B.) Refrigeration.

midity in refrigeration seems to be the most beneficial

for preserving postharvest quality and minimizing mi-

crobial activity in blackberries. These findings highlight

conditions to analyze their impact on the physicochem-

sults provided valuable information for the development

of effective storage and preservation strategies. In terms

of physicochemical characteristics, it was found that re-

frigeration better preserves the quality of blackberries

compared to room temperature. The reduction in the

fruit’s respiration and transpiration rates at lower tem-

peratures significantly contributed to weight retention

and stability of the maturity index, suggesting that re-

frigeration, combined with appropriate packaging, ex-

tends shelf life and maintains the quality of blackberries

Regarding microbiological characteristics, it was demon-

room temperature, conditions favor microbial develop-

ment; PLA was the most effective material in reducing

mold growth, followed by LDPE and PP. Under refrig-

eration, a significant reduction in microbial activity was

observed in all packaging types, with LDPE standing

out for its ability to provide an effective barrier against

the entry of mold spores from the outside.

A limitation of this study is the lack of analysis of

parameters such as antioxidant content, texture, or fla-

vor of the fruit. Including these parameters could pro-

vide a more comprehensive understanding of how differ-

ent storage and packaging conditions affect fruit quality.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of inter-

est.

References

´

Avila, D. A. Ter´an, A. Debut, K. Vizuete,

7. S. Sinha, M. Kader, M. A. Jiku, A. Rahaman, A. Singha,

M. Faruquee, and M. Alam, “Post-harvest assessment of

fruit quality and shelf life of two elite tomato varieties

cultivated in bangladesh,” Bulletin of the National Re-

8. Onethird, “The ultimate guide to fresh

produce shelf life prediction,” pp. 1–17,

2022. [Online]. Available: https://onethird.io/

ultimate-guide-to-fresh-produce-shelf-life-prediction

9. M. E. Mart´ınez-Gonz´alez, R. Balois-Morales, I. Alia-

vol. 8, no. SPE19, pp. 4075–4087, dec 2017. [Online].

Available: http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=

sci arttext&pid=S2007-09342017001104075&lng=es&

nrm=iso&tlng=eshttp://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?

script=sci abstract&pid=S2007-09342017001104075&

lng=es&nrm=iso&tlng=es

10. M. Cabrera, V. Peralta, F. Rodr´ıguez, T. Herrera,

and J. Herrera, “Evaluaci´on “in vitro” de la activi-

dad antifungica del aceite esencial de canela (cinnamo-

mum zeynalicum) sobre botrytis sp aislado de mora de

12 2018.

12. M. J. A., M. ., and J. ., “Evaluaci´on fisicoqu´ımica

y antioxidante de naranjilla (solanum quitoense lam.)

durante la maduraci´on,” Revista Iberoamericana de

https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=81369610003

13. C. Figueroa, C. Concha, N. Figueroa, and G. Tapia, “Fru-

tilla chilena nativa - fragaria chiloensis,” 01 2018.

14. M. Joo, N. Lewandowski, R. Auras, J. Harte, and

E. Almenar, “Comparative shelf life study of black-

22. C. M., M. J. ., A. ., A. ., and A. ., “Efecto del uso

gum,” Horticulturae, vol. 8, no. 7, 2022. [Online].

sustainability,” Italus Hortus, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 23–38,

2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.

35. M. V. Alvarez, A. G. Ponce, and M. R. Moreira,

“Influence of polysaccharide-based edible coatings as

carriers of prebiotic fibers on quality attributes of

ready-to-eat fresh blueberries,” Journal of the Science of

36. R. Porat, A. Lichter, L. A. Terry, R. Harker, and

J. Buzby, “Postharvest losses of fruit and vegetables

during retail and in consumers’ homes: Quantifications,

line]. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/

41. V. Siracusa and I. Blanco, “Bio-polyethylene (bio-

44. L. M. Arbel´aez-Arias, J. C. Lucas-Aguirre, and L. G.

45. J. Fernandez-Salvador, B. C. Strik, Y. Zhao, and

47. L. Isaza, Y. P. Zuluaga, and M. L. Marulanda,