Multi-Target Alternative Approaches to Promoting Fresh-Cut Carrots' Bioactive and Fresh-like Quality.
Foods 2022;
11:foods11162422. [PMID:
36010421 PMCID:
PMC9407139 DOI:
10.3390/foods11162422]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, as near-fresh foods, are a quick and easy solution to a healthy and balanced diet. The rapid degradation of nutritional and sensory quality during the processing and storage of a product is critical and plant-type-dependent. The introduction of disruptive technological solutions in fresh-cut processing, which could maintain fresh-like quality with less environmental impact, is an emerging research concept. The application of abiotic stress treatments (heat shock and UV-C) induces metabolic responses and microbial effects in plant tissues, potentially slowing down several quality senescence pathways. The previously selected combined and single effects of heat shock (100 °C/45 s; in the whole root) and UV-C (2.5 kJ/m2) treatments and two packaging conditions (oriented polypropylene (OPP) vs. micro-perforated OPP films) on controlling critical degradation pathways of fresh-cut carrots and on promoting bioactive and sensory quality during storage (5 °C, 14 days) were studied. Among the tested combinations, synergistic effects on the quality retention of fresh-cut carrots were only attained for applying heat shock associated with micro-perforated OPP film packaging. Its effects on reducing (3.3 Log10 CFU/g) the initial contamination and controlling microbiological spoilage (counts below the threshold limit of 7.5 Log10 CFU/g), increasing the bioactive content (38% and 72% in total phenolic content and chlorogenic acid, respectively), and preserving fresh quality attributes prove to be a viable alternative technology for shredded carrot processing.
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