crystallization of sucrose during drying, and thus permit the formation of a glassy state in which membrane integrity is protected. It is also thought that the hydroxyl groups of sugars may substitute for water, and thus stabilize mem¬branes and proteins during desiccation. Having carbohydrate reserves in the form of non-reducing sugars, rather than in the form of metabolically-active reducing sugars, is thought to decrease the risk of Maillard reactions and, hence, of damage from the reactive oxygen species they produce. This ‘mopping up’ of simple reducing sugars may be especially important in relation to D-galactose, which is phytotoxic (Vertucci and Farrant, 1995).