104C-19 |
Package film oxygen transmission rate affects fresh-cut cilantro quality and microbial growth |
Y. LUO1, J. L. McEvoy1, M. R. Wachtel2, J. G. Kim1, and Y. Huang. (1) Produce Quality & Safety Lab., USDA-ARS-Beltsville Argricultural Research Center, 10300 Baltimore Ave., Bldg. 002, Rm. 117, Beltsville, MD 20705, (2) Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Dr., Bethesda, ME 20892 Fresh-cut fruit and vegetable industry has been rapidly growing in the past decade. With the successful use of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) technology, a wide variety of vegetables have been used in the fresh-cut products. However, processing of fresh-cut culinary herbs has limited success due to poor product quality. Objectives of this study were to develop a MAP system for fresh-cut cilantro, and to determine the effect of package film oxygen transmission rate (OTR) on product quality and microbial growth. Fresh cilantro was cut into approximately 3 cm segments, washed/sanitized in 100 ppm chlorine solution, and centrifuged to remove excess water. Samples were packaged in polypropylene bags of selected film OTRs of 1700, 3500, 6200 O2 mL/day.m2, and stored at 0oC for 14 days. Our results indicate that film OTR significantly (P<0.001) affected package atmospheres, and consequently the quality of fresh-cut cilantro during storage. Gas compositions in the packages with 3500 OTR film reached the desired O2 and CO2 on day 3 and maintained this level throughout the storage, resulting in the highest product quality at the end of storage. Packages with 6200 OTR film had a similar trend. However, packages with 1700 OTR film exhibited a rapid depletion of O2 and accumulation of CO2, resulting in strong off-odor, rapid loss of aroma and decrease in product quality. Samples packaged in perforated bags lost moisture, with wilted leaves seen at the end of storage. Over time, there was a gradual increase in aerobic bacterial counts and slightly higher anaerobic bacterial growth on products packaged in 1700 OTR film. This study identified the optimum gas composition to improve the quality of fresh-cut cilantro. It demonstrates that acceptable quality and shelf life of fresh-cut cilantro can be achieved by selecting the desired package film oxygen transmission rate and package configuration.
Session 104C, Fruit & Vegetable Products: Vegetables (Processed)
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