Introduction. As a living organism, fruit is a site of intense gas exchange due to respiration. Carbon dioxide, oxygen and ethylene are the main components involved in this biological activity; they influence the fruit maturity and ripening phenomena. To help studies on pineapple ripening, this paper presents an easy technique to recover and measure the internal atmosphere of pineapple. Materials methods. Experiments were performed with 30 pineapples (two varieties) at the maturity stage. After a procedure validation with standard gas, the sampling technique was applied to pineapple pieces. The fruit’s internal atmosphere was released after scratching the fruit into a calcium chloride-saturated brine. The recovered gas was transferred into an air-tight flask equipped with a septum and a bladder. The headspace was analysed with a gas chromatograph or an IR analyser, at atmospheric pressure. Results. Twenty complete procedure cycles were done with three different standard gases to test the reproducibility of the technique. Each pineapple of each variety was sampled once according to the procedure. All of the results were situated in the best standardisation range for reproducibility. Conclusion. The main advantages and drawbacks of the technique are presented.

Introduction. The respiration of living plant tissues and the diffusion of gases through the packaging material modify the atmosphere composition in the fresh product package. This modified atmosphere (MA) can be beneficial to the storage of fruit tissues, but, if the permeances of the films are not properly optimized, the MA may be inefficient or even detrimental. To define the optimal permeances (or permeability) for O2, CO2 and water vapor of the packaging film, the respiration rate of plant tissue must be measured as a function of temperature and atmosphere, and the O2 and CO2 concentrations that maximize shelf life must be determined. The best combination of packaging films, type and condition of fresh produce and storage temperature may be computed and verified experimentally. Materials andmethods. The work presents methods for measurement of the respiration rate of plant tissue, then the influence of temperature and the influence of O2 and CO2 contents are studied. This makes it possible to determine the optimal O2 and CO2 concentrations and the optimal gas transmission rates of packaging material. Lastly, experiments regarding the simulation of modified atmospheres are described. Conclusion. The methodology presented in our work provides helpful information to meet the need of optimal fruit and vegetable packaging.