The main quality defect was red discoloration,and a* and hue color values were highly correlated to this defect. The time course of discoloration was related to wound-induced respiration and PAL activity but not polyphenol oxidase activity or concentrations of soluble phenolics.Respiration rates of slices at 0, 5 and 10C averaged 5, 14 and 26 μL CO2/g-h,respectively, during 7 days. No decay was observed under any condition. Storage at 0 and 5C effectively retarded surface discoloration, but 0C was clearly better. A shelf life of 9–12 and 6–8 days was obtained with sunchoke slices at 0 and 5C, respectively, while shelf life was 3 days at 10C.