IMPACT OF DIFFERENT DISINFECTION TREATMENTS ON THE QUALITY RETENTION OF MINIMALLY PROCESSED GARLIC

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2010

Authors

Veríssimo, T (Author) Other; Gil, L (Author) Other; Cunha, LM (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Acta Horticulturae

Pages: 627-633

ISSN: 0567-7572

Publisher: International Society for Horticultural Science

Indexing

Scopus

Scientific classification

FOS: Agrarian Sciences > Agricultural biotechnology

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-011-354

DOI: 10.17660/actahortic.2010.877.82

Abstract (EN): Consumption of minimally processed vegetables has increased in recent years. However, despite these advantages, minimally processed commodities have the limitation of rapid quality damage deterioration and short shelf life due to tissue damage caused by processing. The effect of different sanitizing treatments, as alternatives to chloride, the evaluation of the effect of storage temperature and time, and apparent shelf life, was investigated on the quality of minimally processed garlic. Garlic cloves were peeled, washed in tap water at 0°C, cut into small cubes, and submitted to the following treatments: i) hypochlorite (OCl-), ii) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), iii) lactic acid, iv) calcium lactate, and v) ultraviolet radiation (UV-C), and centrifuged to remove excess water, when needed. The samples were stored at 4, 8 and 12°C, up to four days (96h). Several parameters were determined for these conditions: respiration rates (RO2 and RCO2, ml/kg/h), pH, dry matter (%), total soluble solids (°Brix), and colour (CIE-Lab). Of the different sanitizing treatments studies, the application of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), in garlic cubes, was the most advantageous, mainly by the reduced values of respiratory rate over storage time and the retention of the brightness. Once the best sanitizing treatment was chosen, aiming at the retention of quality of minimally processed garlic, a more detailed storage effect was studied by checking the shelf life of garlic when stored at different temperatures: 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20°C. It was found that the apparent shelf life decreases with increasing storage temperature. For the lowest temperature, 4°C, the garlic reached approximately 268 hours of shelf life, about eleven days.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

Notes: Keywords: fresh-cut produce, garlic cloves, respiration rate, ambient air, sanitizing treatments, hydrogen peroxide, shelf life