In general, orange chemical composition and cellular
structure seem to enable a stable metabolic behaviour.
Physical and chemical properties, and microbial contamination
were not the quality parameters determining
the shelf-life of cut orange. Respiration rate does
not accelerate the deterioration of the cut orange in 5 days at 4°C by sensory analysis, showing that the problem of extending shelf-life is mainly due to flavour
stabilization. Based on these results, we suggest storage
in a non-oxidative atmosphere by using controlled/modified atmosphere technologies, in order to control oxidation reactions. Associated to this a chemical treatment
with ascorbic acid might be used to make up losses during storage.