Detailed Guide to Edible Mushroom Pest and Disease Control and Small-Package Fresh-Keeping Technology

With economic development and the accelerating pace of people's lives, convenient, clean, small-packaged fresh mushroom products have become a market trend. The processing procedure is described below:

Once fresh mushrooms are harvested, they must be placed neatly in small, low containers and sent to a low-temperature workshop as quickly as possible for sorting. The container dimensions are length x width x height = 40 x 28 x 16 cm. Its shape is like a turnover box, with a solid bottom panel, round holes about 2-3 cm in diameter preset around the sides, and recessed interlocking corner blocks at the four bottom corners for stacking multiple layers. When harvesting fresh mushrooms, place them in the same orientation, without alternating head and tail, to avoid contamination. The temperature in the low-temperature workshop is 1-3 degreesC. An ordinary constant-temperature cold storage facility can be modified for this use, and it, along with other packaging containers, should all be stored in the workshop to ensure thorough cooling. After fresh mushrooms are moved into the workshop in boxes, they should be placed separately and must not be stacked in multiple layers, so that the mushroom bodies can cool thoroughly. This step is especially important for fresh mushrooms harvested when the temperature is above 15 degreesC. The sorting tools are: a thin stainless steel blade or bamboo blade, as well as equipment for small-package sealing and box packing.

First use a small knife to trim the base of the fresh mushrooms clean, removing soil, substrate and other debris; when there are many scales, remove them as well. Generally do not wash with water, otherwise the shelf life of the product will be shortened. Once the interior of the mushroom bodies has cooled to below 3 degreesC, they can be portioned and packed. Generally, foam lunchbox-style containers can be used, made into single boxes about 5 cm high, each holding about 150 grams of fresh mushrooms. If plastic packaging is prohibited from sale, custom-made paper boxes can be used. For Coprinus comatus (shaggy mane), a package size of 16 x 10 x 4 cm is generally suitable (length x width x height, the same below); for Agaricus blazei (himematsutake), a size of 15 x 10 x 6 cm is suitable; for Hypsizygus marmoreus (beech mushroom) and Agrocybe aegerita (poplar mushroom), a size of 16 x 8 x 4 cm is suitable. Determine the arrangement method according to the shape and size of the fresh mushrooms, then seal with cling film. Place the small packaging boxes into foam fresh-keeping boxes, each box can hold 36 boxes, and seal with transparent tape to finish.

In addition, for short-term storage and transportation, methods such as ice cooling for fresh-keeping or refrigerated truck transport can also be used. The refrigeration temperature should be controlled at 1-3 degreesC.