Packaging treatments for the storage and export of Austrtalian grapes

Abstract

Comparisons of packing materials for table grapes were carried out during 1966, 1967, and 1968 to find a suitable alternative to granulated cork, the present export pack for grapes. Packs of Purple Cornichon, Gordo Blanco, and Waltham Cross grapes were examined for acceptability after long storage; and to confirm their suitability for export. A pack of tissue-wrapped grapes in wood-wool interspersed with tablets of sodium metabisulphite was the most promising. Grapes stored in this pack were considered acceptable after periods greater than those normally encountered during export.