Preprocessing storage conditions for green ‘Conservolea’ and ‘Chondrolia’ table olives

• Published in: Postharvest biology and technology Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 109 - 115
• Main Authors: Nanos, G.D., Kiritsakis, A.K., Sfakiotakis, E.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier B.V 01.05.2002; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; Chilling; Cold storage; Controlled atmosphere; Economic plant physiology; Food industries; Fructification, ripening. Postharvest physiology; Fruit and vegetable industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Growth and development; High CO 2; Low O 2; Olea europaea; Olive; Quality; Olive; Olea europaea; Low O 2; Quality; Chilling; Cold storage; High CO 2; Controlled atmosphere; Oxygen; Production quality; Cold resistance; Organoleptic properties; Carbon dioxide; Color; Firmness; Off-flavours; Postharvest physiology; Browning; Refrigerated storage; Storage; Fresh product; Application method; Pretreatment
• ISSN: 0925-5214; 1873-2356
• DOI: 10.1016/S0925-5214(01)00164-8

Green olives ( Olea europaea L. cvs. ‘Conservolea’ and ‘Chondrolia’ ), destined for Spanish-style processing, were harvested at the beginning and the end of commercial harvest period and stored at 5 and 7.5 °C in air or various controlled atmospheres. Olive quality was measured periodically and included mass loss, skin color, flesh firmness and chilling injury symptoms, mainly internal browning. Larger samples of ‘Conservolea’ olives were commercially processed with the Spanish method after storage for objective quality determination and taste panel evaluation. Mass loss of fresh olives during storage was generally low and no fruit decay was encountered. Fresh ‘Chondrolia’ green olives were very sensitive to chilling injury. They lost their capacity to develop skin color and ripen after 2–4 weeks of cold storage with excessive internal browning, resulting in pitting and external discoloration. Fresh ‘Conservolea’ green olives developed skin color, especially at 7.5 °C, and after storage in air, 2 or 5 kPa CO 2. Fruit stored at 2 kPa O 2 in the presence or not of high CO 2 retained their green color for more than 2 months. ‘Conservolea’ olives slightly softened during storage but with longer storage, in parallel with chilling injury development, a rehardening of the fruit flesh was measured, possibly an additional chilling injury symptom. Storage at 5 °C and combinations of 2 kPa O 2 and 2 or 5 kPa CO 2 increased susceptibility to chilling injury, although fruit successfully retained skin green color. Objective and subjective quality evaluation of processed ‘Conservolea’ olives gave similar differences between treatments. Abnormal flavor seemed to be an additional result of chilling injury. In conclusion, ‘Conservolea’ green olives can be stored up to 37 days at 5 °C in air or for up to 22 days at 7.5 °C and 2 kPa O 2 plus 5 kPa CO 2.