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How does controlled-atmosphere storage help keep apples fresh?

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Plate of sushi rolls with salmon, vegetables, and rice wrapped in seaweed, served with chopsticks and a small bowl of soy sauce on a wooden table. — gastronomy A common rice dish of Japanese cooking is sushi. To make a type known as *maki-zushi*, a sheet of seaweed is spread with rice flavored with vinegar. Seafood or vegetables and garnishes are then placed on top. Finally, the whole sheet is rolled into a cylinder and sliced.

Controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage helps keep apples fresh by precisely regulating the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the storage environment to retard senescence and deterioration.1

In this process, oxygen levels are typically reduced while carbon dioxide levels are increased. Because apples are climacteric fruits, their ripening is accompanied by increased respiration; by maintaining oxygen at approximately 5 percent and carbon dioxide at 1 to 3 percent, the fruit's respiration rate is slowed. This environment, often used in conjunction with refrigeration, significantly delays the ripening process and tissue breakdown.12

Furthermore, the removal of ethylene gas—a hormone that emanates from the fruit and accelerates ripening—is critical to extending the shelf life of apples. By managing these atmospheric gases, the apple industry can successfully store fruit for several months while maintaining quality.32