The Maoming Supply and Marketing Cooperative recently dispatched a batch of lychees that had been kept in the controlled-atmosphere storage room of Guangdong Xianrun Ecological Agriculture Technology in Gaozhou county-level city.

Workers pack lychees from the controlled-atmosphere storage room. [Photo/WeChat account: maofabu]

The lychees had been stored in the controlled-atmosphere storage room for 26 days, but still retained their freshness. These will be sold to the Guangzhou fruit wholesale market.

Controlled-atmosphere storage combines refrigeration with the regulation of gas in order to control the temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and ethylene levels in the storage environment.

By suppressing the respiration process of fruits and vegetables, it slows down their metabolic rate, making them fresher and extending their storage and shelf life. The fresh life of fruits and vegetables can be extended by more than 20 days after they are removed from the storage facility.

"In recent years, we have conducted freshness tests on a variety of specialty fruits and vegetables in Maoming, such as lychees, longans, Sanhua plums, and cherry tomatoes, using controlled atmosphere storage technology," said Wang Zhiqing, the general manager of Guangdong Xianrun Ecological Agriculture Technology.

"This year, we have pioneered the use of controlled-atmosphere packaging boxes to further extend the shelf life and enhance the freshness of Maoming's specialty fruits. We still hope to see Maoming's fruits stay fresher for longer."