Extending the Storage Life of Cabbage, Celery, Lettuce, and Tomatoes Aboard a Navy Supply Ship

Excerpts from the report Introduction: Transportation of fresh vegetables to ships stationed in foreign waters and to overseas bases is often a major problem for the officers and crew of a U. S. Navy supply ship. Maintenance of the original quality is difficult when the vegetables must be carried aboard the ship for a month or longer. In addition, waste is sometimes considerable during the long transit and storage periods before the vegetables are consumed. Any improved methods of handling or packaging which would lengthen the storage life or maintain the original quality and reduce the amount of waste of fresh vegetables during transit would be of considerable value. Studies were begun in 1954 at the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Plant Industry Station at Beltsville, Md., to investigate various new handling and packaging methods for prolonging storage life and maintaining quality of fresh vegetables. Supply ship conditions were simulated for these studies. Later, in the spring of 1958, a test shipment was made which used much of the information gained from the laboratory research. The test was conducted aboard the USS Rigel, a supply ship assigned to the Sixth Fleet, operating in the Mediterranean. This report is a summary of the results of that test.