ABSTRACT

Because they meet the needs of today’s consumers, fresh-cut plant products are currently one of the hottest commodities in the food market of industrialized countries. However, fresh-cut produce deteriorates faster than the correspondent intact produce. The main purpose of Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables: Technology, Physiology, and Safety is to provide helpful guidelines to the industry for minimizing deterioration, keeping the overall quality, and lengthening the shelf life. It provides an integrated and interdisciplinary approach for accomplishing the challenges, where raw materials, handling, minimal processing, packaging, commercial distribution, and retail sale must be well managed. It covers technology, physiology, quality, and safety of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables.

In this book, the chapters follow a logical sequence analyzing most of the important factors affecting the main characteristics of fresh-cut horticultural products. The most relevant technologies to prevent deterioration and improve final overall quality of fresh-cut commodities are described in detail. This book covers the basics of the subject from quality preservation, nutritional losses, physiology, and safety to industry-oriented advancements in sanitization, coatings, and packaging. It examines such novel preservation technologies as edible coatings, antimicrobial coatings, natural antimicrobials, gum arabic coatings, and pulsed light treatments. Minimal processing design and industrial equipment are also reviewed. With its international team of contributors, this book will be an essential reference work both for professionals involved in the postharvest handling of fresh-cut and minimally processed fruits and vegetables and for academic and researchers working in the area.

part 1|190 pages

Emerging Technologies

chapter 1|43 pages

Technologies to Preserve Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables

BySunil Pareek

chapter 2|54 pages

Pulsed Light Treatment of Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables

ByMaria Turtoi

chapter 3|38 pages

Hurdle Technology in Fruit Processing

ByStella M. Alzamora, Sandra N. Guerrero, Silvia Raffellini, Mariana Ferrario, Marcela Schenk

chapter 4|52 pages

Process Design and Equipment for Fresh-Cut Fruit and Vegetable Industry

ByAlessandro Turatti

part 2|140 pages

Physiology

chapter 5|31 pages

Tissue Structure and Rheological and texture

ByStella M. Alzamora, Andrea B. Nieto, María A. Castro, Paula Gómez, Analía García Loredo, Joaquin Fava, Sebastian Vicente

chapter 6|27 pages

Factors Affecting Quality and Safety of Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables

ByGiancarlo Colelli, Maria Luisa Amodio

chapter 7|53 pages

Physiology and Quality of Fresh-Cut Produce in CA/MA Storage

ByHidemi Izumi, Victor Rodov, Jinhe Bai, Sumithra K. Wendakoon

chapter 8|24 pages

Effect of Minimal Processing and Applied Treatments on Antioxidant Losses of Tropical Fruits and Vegetables

ByLaura Contreras-Angulo, Gustavo Adolpho González-Aguilar, J. Basilio Heredia, Sunil Pareek

part 3|137 pages

Packaging

chapter 9|70 pages

Edible Films and Coatings for Fresh and Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables

ByTheeranun Janjarasskul, Rungsinee Sothornvit, Tara McHugh

chapter 10|50 pages

Antimicrobial Packaging for Fresh and Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables

ByMaría B. Pérez-Gago, Lluís Palou

chapter 11|15 pages

Gum Arabic-Based Edible Coatings for Fresh Horticultural Produce

ByAsgar Ali, Maysoun A. Mustafa

part 4|109 pages

Safety

chapter 12|27 pages

Emerging Sanitation Techniques for Fresh-Cuts

ByElisabete M.C. Alexandre, Teresa R.S. Brandão, Cristina L.M. Silva

chapter 13|31 pages

Microbial Safety of Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables

ByMaría V. Alvarez, María del R. Moreira, Jesús F. Ayala-Zavala

chapter 15|23 pages

Chlorine Dioxide in Preservation of Minimally Processed Horticultural Produce

ByVicente M. Gómez-López, Adriana Izquier