ABSTRACT
Minimally processed foods and partially processed foods (fresh-like foods) began to appear on the market at the industrial level in the late 1980s and early 1990s as an answer to the needs of consumers who were interested in products that were fresh, as well as easy to prepare and serve (Resurrection and Prussia, 1986; Mertens and Knorr, 1992). The appearance of these types of products has been closely related to both changes in consumption patterns of society (Tapia de Daza et al., 1996) and certain needs of the catering industry (Ahvenainen, 1996). In many countries where there are no storage or transport refrigeration facilities, MPF and PPF may act as a mechanism to regulate fruit and vegetable production and their supply to final transformation industries (Alzamora et al., 1993; Alzamora et al., 1995; Argaiz et al., 1995).
