Standardization of moisture absorber with packaging material to increase the shelf-life and quality of white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus)

Shelf-life of freshly harvested mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) is limited to 1-3 days at ambient temperature because they transpire at the same rate as the fruiting sporophore. Condensed water on the underside of plastic pouches causes a thin layer of moisture to persist on caps and thus supports growth of fungus which leads to the requirement of moisture absorbers to increase the shelf-life of mushrooms. The present study was conducted to determine the combined effect of packaging material and absorber on quality and shelf-life of fresh packaged mushrooms. Freshly harvested mushrooms were washed with 0.5 % CaCl2 + 0.5 % KMS + 0.5 % NaCl solution, packed in polypropylene with different concentrations of absorbers (desiccant mixture of bentonite 0.55 g + sorbitol 0.25 g + CaCl2 0.20 g g-1), and were subjected to the storage period of 3 days at refrigerated conditions. During storage, different physical and biochemical parameters were analyzed. After 3 days of storage, mushrooms packed in polypropylene pouches with 12 g absorber showed best results with respect to weight loss and visual observation. Quality of mushrooms was found to be maintained with moisture absorber. A notable decrease in surface moisture of mushrooms was observed when packed with absorber containing 16 g of desiccant mixture.