The fresh produce packaging company StePacPPC has customized its award-winning modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) films to preserve fresh whole and sliced white mushrooms, and whole exotic mushrooms, such as oyster, lion’s mane, shiitake, portabella and more. The lean MAP system fulfils consumer demands for sustainable packaging that slows deterioration and dramatically reduces waste of this highly perishable item.

The appetite for mushrooms has been growing rapidly based on their health halo and being a vegan source of meaty umami flavour and texture. Yet mushrooms also have a very short shelf life. Growers and shippers are constantly grappling with these challenges, striving to improve mushroom storage capabilities and curb waste.

StePacPPC’s latest advancement in its packaging formats is designed specifically to maintain the freshness of whole and sliced white mushrooms, and whole exotic mushrooms. The customized films significantly slow down decay and reduce weight loss of costly culinary delicacies, preserving texture, nutrition, and flavour thereby effectively diminishing a considerable amount of waste and cost.

Over the past decade, consumer demand for mushrooms has surged, with more exotic species entering the mainstream. They are considered a culinary specialty, appreciated for their savoury qualities and nutritional benefits. According to data by Emergen Research, the global mushroom market size is valued at more than US$50 billion. This number is expected to more the double by 2030.

Despite the increasing demand, the highly perishable nature of mushrooms, combined with the challenges of maintaining their shelf life has kept them from realizing their full market potential.

“Mushrooms have high metabolic activity and respiration rates which gives them a short shelf life, typically just a few days,” explains Gary Ward, Ph.D., CTO for StePacPPC. “They also generate a lot of moisture during the respiration process, which encourages bacterial decay. On the other hand, they are also prone to dehydration which causes them to shrivel, and they become disco-
loured due to oxidation. Sliced mushrooms are even more susceptible to a rapid decline in quality.”

The high water-vapor transmission rate of StePacPPC films, coupled with the customized modified atmosphere properties, have proven ideal for preserving the quality of both whole and sliced mushrooms, at once slowing respiration and aging, reducing dehydration, and expelling
excess moisture from the packaging.

“In post-harvest lab and field trials, our films have demonstrated abilities to maintain the freshness and wholesome appearance of mushrooms,” says Ward. “This effectively stretches their shelf life from just a few days to more than two weeks, generating meaningful reductions in food waste.”

StePacPPC’s packaging first demonstrated its potential for mushroom preservation during the Covid pandemic. Oyster mushroom farmers found themselves with backlogs of produce due to the logistical standstills. StePacPPC’s Xtend bulk

packaging solutions were instrumental in helping prolong storage in the cold storage, effectively mitigating waste.

Since then, the company has developed Xtend bulk packaging solutions for lion’s mane, shiitake and portabella.

For more information, visit: www.stepacppc.com
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