The undesirable postharvest changes which occur during the storage of fresh
produce (ripening, senescence) may be controlled through manipulation of the
carbon dioxide and oxygen in the storage atmosphere. Practically, this may be
achieved through the use of controlled atmosphere storage and the use of packaging
materials to create modified atmospheres (Kader, 1986). In these circumstances the
creation of anaerobic conditions within the produce is undesirable because of the
detrimental effect on its quality.