Abstract
Fresh-cut lettuce, stored in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), is a frequent component of bagged salads. However, even in MAP, fresh-cut lettuce is highly perishable due to non-microbial deterioration manifested by tissue liquefaction. The present study investigated the effects of plant physiology, lettuce processing, storage conditions, and exogenous stimuli on the deterioration of fresh-cut lettuce stored in MAP. Tests were performed on genotypes with a known rate of deterioration after processing. Leaf maturity of slowly deteriorating cultivars was generally negatively correlated with the shelf life, i.e., younger leaves deteriorated more slowly than older leaves. Leaf maturity of rapidly deteriorating cultivars was positively correlated with the shelf life, i.e., younger leaves deteriorated more rapidly than older leaves. The deterioration rate increased with temperature. Larger salad pieces deteriorated slower than smaller pieces and pieces that had additional wounding. Packaged samples of smaller size (less tissue per MAP bag with a constant volume) usually had a slower deterioration rate than larger samples. Reduced humidity in MAP slowed the rate of deterioration, particularly for rapidly deteriorating cultivars. Ethanol and hexanal accelerated the deterioration process of all cultivars in a dose-dependent manner. Sanitization of lettuce with chlorine, or treatments with abscisic acid, methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, melatonin, or calcium lactate, had no obvious effect on the deterioration rate at the tested concentrations. This work provides insights into factors that need to be optimized to slow the rate of physiological deterioration of fresh-cut salad and identifies the most suitable conditions to reveal genotypic differences among lettuces.
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The data supporting our findings are contained within the manuscript. Seeds are available upon request from the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Rebecca Zhao and Jose Orozco, research technicians at the USDA-ARS Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit, for their technical support and Yongbiao Liu, a research entomologist in the Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit, for his advice on the identification of deterioration-associated factors. The mentioning of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
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This research was funded by USDA NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) Grant # 2015–51181-24283.
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H.P. conducted planting, harvesting, salad processing, evaluation of deterioration rate, data analysis, and wrote the manuscript. J.S. collaborated on planting, harvesting, and salad processing. R.W.M. and I.S. conceived of the project, supervised the experiments, advised data analyses, and contributed to writing of the manuscript. All authors edited and approved the final manuscript.
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Peng, H., Sthapit Kandel, J., Michelmore, R.W. et al. Identification of Factors Affecting the Deterioration Rate of Fresh-Cut Lettuce in Modified Atmosphere Packaging. Food Bioprocess Technol 13, 1997–2011 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-020-02538-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-020-02538-2