The benefits of vacuum cooling in mushrooms

In the past few years more and more systems have been installed at mushroom farms using vacuum cooling as a rapid cooling method for mushrooms. Having the correct cooling processes in place is important in the handling of any fresh produce but for mushrooms it can be even more critical. While consumer demand for nutritious and delicious mushrooms continues to grow, the popular fungi present particular challenges for growers because of their shorter shelf life compared to other produce. Once harvested, mushrooms are highly susceptible to bacteria growth. They can dehydrate and deteriorate rapidly unless quickly cooled and maintained at the correct storage temperature. Vacuum cooling offers here the best solution to growers allowing them to more efficiently cool mushrooms.

Vacuum Cooling Technology and knows the importance of proper temperature and  moisture control, which play a key role after harvesting the mushrooms, ensuring adequate quality and longer shelf life.

The importance of pre-cooling
Precooling is a very important step in the post-harvest stage as mushrooms get intro stress after the cutting process. This results in transpiration and high respiration, resulting in loss of shelf-life, but at the same time in an increase in product temperature, especially when packed tightly. Mushrooms at 20˚C produce 600 % more heat energy compared to mushrooms at 2˚C! This is why it is critical to get them cooled quickly and correctly.

Overall it helps to reduce the loss in quality of produce once it has been harvested. Likewise, precooling increases the shelf-life of fresh produce. Higher quality and longer shelf-life means more profits to mushroom growers.

Comparison of pre-cooling methods
Vacuum cooling is one of the most efficient and fast cooling methods compared to other technologies, guaranteeing a fast lowering of the product’s temperature right after harvesting. The table below compares pre-cooling methods as applied to fresh fruits and vegetables.