The values for respiration rate of cherry tomatoes stored in
modified atmosphere package (MAP) containing 5% O2, 5% CO2, and
90% N2 and atmosphere containing synthetic air (control), for
25 days at 5 C are shown in Fig. 6. In the first hours of product
storage, the respiration rate is high due to the greater amount of O2
available. In the following hours, the respiration rate decreases due
to the reduction of the amount of O2 available for consumption by
the fruit. After 100 h of storage, the product reached respiration
rate equilibrium. Similar behavior was found by Batu and
Thompson (1998). A