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Use of UV-C postharvest treatment for extending fresh whole tomato (Solanum lycopersicum, cv. Zinac) shelf-life

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Abstract

The effect of UV-C treatments (0.32, 0.97, 2.56, 4.16 and 4.83 kJ.m−2 at 254 nm) on the physical-chemical properties [colour, texture, total phenolic content (TPC), weight loss (WL)], and mesophylic counts of whole tomato, was evaluated during 15 days at 10 °C. During storage, the Ctr samples acquired faster red colour than all UV-C samples (higher a* and lower °h values). Comparing texture of Ctr and UV-C samples at 15th storage day, an increase of 9 and 8 % on firmness of treated samples at low UV-C intensities (0.32 and 0.97 kJ.m−2, respectively) was observed. At the end of the storage, Ctr samples showed ca. 4 Log10 of mesophylic load, and the samples treated at 0.97 and 4.83 kJ.m−2 revealed the lowest microbial load (1.9 and 3.2 Log10, respectively). These results indicate that UV-C radiation, at an appropriate dose, combined with low storage temperature (10 °C) are an effective method to preserve the postharvest life of tomato, without adversely affecting quality parameters.

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Acknowledgments

The author Joaquina Pinheiro gratefully acknowledges her Ph.D grant (SFRH/BD/24913/2005) to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) from Ministério da Ciência e do Ensino Superior (Portugal). The authors greatly acknowledge the technical assistance of Maria do Carmo and Ana Magalhães for helping in performing the microbial analysis. This work was supported by National Funds from FCT through project PEst-OE/EQB/LA0016/2011.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CBQF–Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina–Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Dr. António Bernardino Almeida, 4200-072, Porto, Portugal

    Joaquina Pinheiro & Cristina L. M. Silva

  2. UEISTSA–Unidade Estratégica de Investigação e Serviços de Tecnologia e Segurança Alimentar, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Estrada Paço do Lumiar, 22, 1649-038, Lisboa, Portugal

    Joaquina Pinheiro, Carla Alegria, Marta Abreu & Elsa M. Gonçalves

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  1. Joaquina Pinheiro
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  2. Carla Alegria
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  3. Marta Abreu
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  4. Elsa M. Gonçalves
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  5. Cristina L. M. Silva
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Correspondence to Cristina L. M. Silva.

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Pinheiro, J., Alegria, C., Abreu, M. et al. Use of UV-C postharvest treatment for extending fresh whole tomato (Solanum lycopersicum, cv. Zinac) shelf-life. J Food Sci Technol 52, 5066–5074 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-014-1550-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13197-014-1550-0

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