Mangoes are a popular tropical fruit, but their perishable nature leads to high loss rates in the supply chain. Recently, an Australian study found that soaking mangoes in ozone water for 10 minutes before cold storage could potentially double their shelf life.
According to Xinhua News Agency, researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia published a paper in the latest issue of the international journal Plant Growth Regulation, stating that they used the local, most common 'Kensington Pride' mango variety as their research subject. The experiment demonstrated that by cold storing at 5 degrees Celsius and applying a 10-minute ozone water treatment before storage, the shelf life of mangoes could be extended from the original 14 days to 28 days.
The research points out that this ozone water soaking technology can be flexibly applied at different stages, either as a water-cooling step after export quarantine heat treatment, or independently as a post-harvest disinfection method.
The researchers plan to further verify the applicability of this method to other mango varieties in the future, and to promote its optimized application in commercial environments.
Data shows that about 20% of Australia’s mango production is discarded due to rot. Developing green and cost-effective treatment technologies has become key to reducing these losses. The researchers said that this ozone water treatment method holds great promise for extending fruit shelf life and enhancing export competitiveness.