LAUSR

Mushrooms are seasonal and highly perishable crops and contain about 90% (w.b) moisture. The moisture content of fresh mushrooms is 70 – 95% (w.b), depending upon the harvest time and environmental conditions, while that of dried mushrooms is close to 10% (w.b).  Due to their high moisture content, they cannot be stored for more than 24 hours at ambient conditions. Hence, they need to be preserved by some methods. Moisture transportation and distribution in products are key factors for the development of the product quality. To control quality development, an understanding of the moisture content at a certain time of the product is required. The objective of the study was to extend the shelf life of fresh harvest of White oyster mushroom without compromising the quality by applying the acoustic wave with various exposure time. White oyster mushroom samples were exposed to acoustic waves (1kHz, 100 dB) inside a soundproof chamber at three levels of exposure time (1, 2, 3) hours. Subsequently, white oyster mushrooms sample stored in a refrigerator at 10 o C. The effects of acoustic waves application were determined by measuring the surface color, flesh firmness, and shelf-life extension every other day at cold storage. Results of the study indicated that white oyster mushroom samples exposed to acoustic waves for 2 hours exhibited the slowest to effect change in surface color for 13 days compared to 1 hour and 3 hours of exposure time at 11 and 12 days, respectively. Moreover, flesh firmness of white oyster mushroom samples exposed to acoustic waves for 2 hours was proved to exhibits the slowest to effect change for 13 days compared to 1 hour and 3 hours of exposure time at 11 and 12 days, respectively. The acoustic waves have a potential benefit of extending the shelf life of white oyster mushroom up to 13 days at 10 o C without altering the quality.