ASHRAE to Study Impact of Refrigerator Storage Apr 25, 2005

Printable format  Email this Article  Search

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is funding research to study the impact of household refrigerator storage conditions on the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables.

In order for equipment developers and designers to improve food preservation performance, ASHRAE believes research showing how food preservation can be influenced by storage conditions is needed.

Currently, household refrigerators use special-purpose compartments in an attempt to maintain suitable environments for specific foods. To maintain high-humidity environments, tight-fitting compartments are used to seal foods from the low-humidity air circulating in the general storage compartment.

Despite efforts to prevent humidity migration from these compartments, ASHRAE says there will be moisture loss over time, which will reduce the humidity in the compartments below the recommended humidity.

The research by ASHRAE will examine effects of low storage humidity, high fluctuations in storage temperature, and moisture condensation on the shelf life of lettuce and strawberries.

Back to Daily News