PURPOSE: To prolong the storage life of a fruit and vegetable remarkably as compared to the conventional vacuum storage, by storing the fruit and vegetable in an atmosphere in a low O2 concentration and high CO2 concentration.

CONSTITUTION: The atmosphere in a low O2 concentration and high CO2 concentration is maintained at a desired level preferably by reducing the quantity of ventilating air in a storage chamber. The storage atmosphere is preferably kept at -5W15°C temperature, 80W100% relative humidity and 20W200 Torr pressure and contains 1W20% CO2, ≤20% O2, ≤1% ethylene and other gases, e.g. N2 and Ar. CO2 generated from the fruit and the vegetable to be stored is used as the supply source of CO2, and the quantity of the ventilating air is extremely reduced as compared to that in the conventional vacuum storage to maintain the high CO2 concentration with ease. As a result, the respiration of the stored fruit and vegetable is suppressed, and the diffusion rate of the gas, e.g. ethylene or alcohol, generated from the stored fruit and vegetable can be increased to keep the freshness of the stored fruit and vegetable.