Effects of Vibration Stress on the Quality of Packaged Apples during Simulated Transport

Purpose: The characteristics of in-transit vibration stress and possible damage to packaged apples were examined. Methods: A simulated transportation environment with a specific power density profile was used for vibration impact experiments to determine the resulting decrease in packaged apple quality. Apples with or without vibration stress were stored at low temperature ($5{\pm}0.8^{\circ}C$, 75-85% relative humidity) for 30 days. Statistically significant differences (p ${\leq}$ 0.05) were found between apples with and without vibration stress for concentration of oxygen ($O_2$; 11.2% and 14.1%, respectively; initially $29{\pm}0.4%$), carbon dioxide ($CO_2$; 26.4% and 21.8%; initially $1{\pm}0.2%$), and ethylene (79.4 ${\mu}LL^{-1}$ and 55.6 ${\mu}LL^{-1}$; initially $14.1{\pm}0.6{\mu}LL^{-1}$) in the headspace of a gas-collecting container after 30 days of storage. Results: Significant differences were also measured for apples with and without vibration stress with respect to soluble solid content (15.4% and 14.9%, respectively; initially $12.9{\pm}0.8%$ and $13.1{\pm}1.1%$), weight loss (10.1% and 8.2%), and firmness (139.7 kPa and 163.3 kPa; initially $213.8{\pm}6.2$ kPa and $209.1{\pm}7.9$ kPa) after 30 days of storage. Conclusions: The vibration stress clearly accelerated the degradation of apple quality during storage, resulting in increased weight loss, soluble solid content, and headspace $CO_2$ and ethylene production, and decreased firmness and headspace $O_2$.