The mushrooms Pleurotus sajor-caju are usually avaliable in natura and according to the storage conditions, it's shelf life varies from 3 to 7 days. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the increase of fresh mushrooms'shelf life by immersion into citric acid solution, hydrogen peroxide solutions and distilled water. Fresh mushrooms were immersed in these solutions for 2 minutes, dried, packed in trays and kept under refrigeration (4°C) for 10 days. Color, texture and loss mass of the mushrooms were evaluated in the first, fifth and tenth days. A yellowish colour in the mushrooms appeared and their texture and mass decreased. The global aspect of the immersed mushrooms had no difference compared to the control; thus the process of immersion into different solutions did not extend the shelf life of fresh mushrooms.
mushrooms; conservation; citric acid; hydrogen peroxide
