30B-32 |
Respiration rate behavior of fresh cut produce as affected by intensity of wounding |
B. B. SURJADINATA, A. E. Thomas, and L. Cisneros-Zevallos. Dept. of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2133 Fresh cut produce is becoming more popular. Studies have been done on minimally processed produce but it is still unknown how wounding affects the respiration rate for many of them. If respiration rate can be predicted, packaging can be modeled to preserve and improve the quality of the produce. The objective of this work was to study the respiration rate of fresh cut produce as affected by intensity of wounding in order to predict the appropriate packaging. Carrots were cut into 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 cylindrical slices and unsliced carrots were used as controls. These carrots were then stored in sealed glass jars at 10oC with a constant humidified airflow, enough to keep CO2 concentration under 0.15%. For fifteen days, gas samples were periodically withdrawn and analyzed using a CO2 infrared analyzer. Results showed that wounding increased the respiration rate of carrots. Unsliced carrots showed the lowest rate throughout the experiment. Respiration rates of those with the most intense wounding (32 slices) increased significantly to a maximum of 90 mlCO2kg-1hr-1 while moderately wounded carrots (8 and 16 slices) increased up to 65 mlCO2kg-1hr-1. Those with less wounding (2 and 4 slices) showed similar results to the control; they only increased to 40 mlCO2kg-1hr-1. After reaching a peak on the third day, respiration rates in all treatments decreased until reaching steady state on the seventh day; at 28 mlCO2kg-1hr-1 for the less wounded carrots and 32 mlCO2kg-1hr-1 for those sliced 8, 16, and 32 times. Increased in respiration rate could be due to wounding affects, increasing surface area, or both. Our results suggested that it is possible to relate respiration rate to new area created by cutting. This information could be useful and needs to be considered when designing packaging to maintain good quality of fresh cut produce.
Session 30B, Fruit & Vegetable Products: Sensory, Product Development, Fresh-Cut, and Storage
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