Mushrooms have a short postharvest shelf life compared to most vegetables,due to a very high metabolic activity and high water content, making them proneto microbial spoilage and to exhibit enzymatic browning. After harvest themushroom colour gradually changes from white to brown, due to the appearanceof browning and possibly bacterial blotching, while the growth of the stipe andthe cap continues. The cap growth results in gradual opening of the mushroomcap
deterioration of mushroom
Mushrooms are consider as a nutritional and health beneficial product. Three most cultivated mushrooms worldwide are
Agaricusbisporus
,
Lentinus edodes
and
Pleurotus
spp. Mushrooms are highly perishable. They tend to lose quality after harvest, mainly becauseof their high respiration rate and the fact that they have no barrier to protect them from water loss. Mushrooms’ shelf-life is limited to afew days under normal refrigeration conditions, which is a constraint on the distribution and marketing of fresh product, makingextension of mushroom’s shelf life a constant quest