Adjustable aperture for plant tissue packaging

Abstract

The present invention provides improved packaging for harvested plant tissues, such as agricultural products. In some embodiments harvested plant tissues are placed in a package that contains either at least one hole, or a gas-permeable patch. The hole or patch is in turn covered by an adjustable aperture. The present invention improves available packaging methods by providing an additional level of control over the gas composition inside the package. Some embodiments of the present invention also mitigate damage to harvested plant tissues by contacting the plant tissues with ozone during transportation and storage. In some embodiments, harvested plant tissues are treated with ozone before packaging. The present invention also reduces costs by enabling the same package or kind of package to be used for different contents that have different atmospheric requirements for optimal protection from excessive ripening and spoilage.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims benefit and priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 879,716 filed on Jan. 9, 2007, Attorney Docket # PA4101PRV entitled, “Improved Modified Atmosphere Packaging Process,” which is herein incorporated by reference, and from pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ [not yet assigned] filed on Jul. 26, 2007, Attorney Docket # PA4175US entitled, “Improved Plant Tissue Packaging Process,” which is herein incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]This invention relates to packaging for harvested plant tissues.[0004]2. Description of Related Art[0005]Many plant tissues, including important agricultural products, ripen after harvest. For example, bananas harvested green and unripe continue to ripen during packaging, transportation and storage, consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide in the process of respiration. Bananas also produce ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]The present invention provides improved packaging for harvested plant tissues, such as agricultural products. In some embodiments harvested plant tissues are placed in a package that contains either at least one hole, or a gas-permeable patch. The hole or patch is in turn covered by an adjustable aperture. The present invention improves currently available packaging methods by providing an additional level of control over the gas composition inside the package over the entire course of transportation and storage of the packaged plant tissues. Some embodiments of the present invention also mitigate damage to harvested plant tissues due to excessive ripening and spoilage, by contacting the plant tissues with ozone during transportation and storage. In some embodiments, harvested plant tissues are treated with ozone before packaging. The present invention also reduces costs by enabling the same package or kind of package to be used for different contents that have different atmospheric requirements for optimal protection from excessive ripening and spoilage.

Problems solved by technology

Agricultural industries are vulnerable to economic losses from the excessive ripening of agricultural products before those products reach the consumer.

Controlled-atmosphere storage requires specially equipped storage rooms that are costly to construct and operate, and maintaining a controlled atmosphere in a shipping container is very difficult and expensive.

Moreover, because controlled-atmosphere environments may not support human life, they may only be entered by personnel with special equipment.

Furthermore, even when a batch of ethylene-sensitive fruit is stored separately from other fruits, an entire batch of ethylene-sensitive fruit (e.g., all the fruit in a storage room or shipping container) can ripen prematurely if only a small amount of the fruit within it begins to ripen.

However, undesired ripening and microbial contamination within each package remains problematic.

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