abstract
The development of a fruit salad using mild processing conditions is demand to fulfill consumers' requirements for convenience, long-lasting and healthy foods ensuring safety but preserving the properties of a fresh product. This work intended to investigate the effect of mild-pasteurization and storage temperature on two distinct fruit salads, with different pH (Orange-based fruit salad pH 4.2 and Pear based fruit salad pH 3.9), to identify the conditions favorable to develop a long shelf life fruit salad. The fruit salads were pasteurized at mild-temperature (70 or 80 degrees C) and stored at 4 or 25 degrees C over a period of 98 days. These pasteurization treatments ensured enzymatic inactivation and food safety. However, fruit combination influences fruit salads stability during storage, being colour the most affected parameter due to non-enzymatic browning reactions. Acidity of the fruit salad is important to inhibit oxidation reactions and extend shelf life, as well as the total soluble solids that seem to diminish oxidation process and loss of ascorbic acid. Thus, using mild-pasteurization it is possible to develop fruit salads with shelf life up 2 months stored at room temperature, reducing costs, by simply controlling fruit combination (i.e. type of fruits, acidity and sugar content). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
keywords
ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY; HIGH-PRESSURE; PRUNUS-ARMENIACA; STORAGE; QUALITY; COLOR; ORANGE; JUICE; VEGETABLES; KIWIFRUIT
subject category
Food Science & Technology
authors
Sobral, MMC; Nunes, C; Maia, A; Ferreira, P; Coimbra, MA
our authors
Cláudia Nunes
Assistant Researcher
Madalena Sobral
Research Fellowship
Paula Celeste da Silva Ferreira
Coordinating ResearcherGroups
G2 - Photonic, Electronic and Magnetic Materials
G4 - Renewable Materials and Circular Economy
acknowledgements
Thanks are due to FCT/MEC for the financial support to the CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 and Ref. FCT UID/CTM/50011/2013) and QOPNA research unit (FCT UID/QUI/00062/2013) through national founds and when applicable co-financed by FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. The authors thank also the support of FCT for the Post Doc (SFRH/BPD/100627/2014) and IF (IF/00327/2013) grants.