and one damaged lettuce leaf can speed the
decline of a whole head. Recently,
manufacturers have introduced produce
containers with inserts that destroy ethylene
and extend storage life (the inserts contain
permanganate).
A very common commercial treatment that
slows both water loss and oxygen uptake in
whole fruits and fruit-vegetables — apples,
oranges, cucumbers, tomatoes — is to coat
them at the packing facility with a layer of
edible wax or oil. A number of different
materials are used, including natural beeswax
and carnauba, candellila, and rice-bran waxes
and vegetable oils, and such petrochemical
by-products as paraffin, polyethylene waxes,
and mineral oil. These treatments are
harmless, but they can make produce surfaces
unpleasantly waxy or hard.
Temperature Control:
Refrigeration