Apparatus for preserving food by generating preservative gas

摘要

The gas generating device according to the invention comprises a basin-like main container containing a solid chemical reagent substance, and an auxiliary container, arranged at the interior of the main container, containing a liquid chemical reagent substance. The main container is closed at its top by a cover lid in such a manner as to permit the outflow of gas generated at its interior. The gas generating device is accomodated at the interior of a storage or transport receptacle formed by a stack of superposed crates of fruits or vegetables, enclosed in a gas-tight wrapping of suitable plastic sheet material. When is its desired to generate the preservative gas at the interior of the storage or transport receptacle, the operator, by using a suitable piercing needle, perforates in one single piercing operation the wrapping, the cover lid and the auxiliary container, so that the liquid reagent substance comes into contact with the solid reagent substance, thus giving origin to a chemical reaction which generates the preservative gas. The thus generated preservative gas escapes through the cover lid, and fills the interior of the storage or transport receptacle.