Abstract When handling and packing fresh sour cherry fruits, great care must be taken to assure adequate sanitation. Fruits have a concise shelf life, so postharvest deterioration occurs very quickly if adequate precautions are not taken to prevent it. Reduction in the amounts of colour, acid and firmness loss, incidence of decay and stem browning are potential benefits of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). In this study, the harvested fruits of ‘Érdi jubileum’ and ‘Érdi bőtermő’ sour cherry cultivars were stored at 0°C in MAP (15% O2, 10% CO2 and 75% N2) for 6 weeks. Weight loss, skin colour, pH, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), SSC/TA ratio and firmness of fruits were monitored. Results showed that as expected, weight loss was reduced significantly under MAP more than ambient air packaging. Fruits packaged with modified atmosphere packaging films maintained higher flesh firmness than control. Control fruits had the highest SSC content. During the postharvest period, titratable acidity and pH increased slightly. Skin colour was lighter (higher ‘L’) and less blue (higher ‘b’) under modified atmosphere than usual air packing.

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