ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the pulsed light (PL) treatment as an emerging method used to decontaminate and extend the shelf life of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. It begins with the presentation of the principles of PL treatment in terms of PL spectrum, PL equipment and mechanisms of microbial inactivation through photochemical, photothermal, and physical effects. The factors affecting microbial inactivation with PL such as the wavelength, the light intensity, the treatment time, the number of pulses, the attributes of the food, the characteristics of the packaging, the roughness of the surface, the depth of the liquid’s layer, the sensitivity of the microorganisms to the PL, the size of the population, and the relative position between lamp and sample are discussed further. The next section of this chapter examines the achievements of the application of PL on the decontamination of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. This analysis is divided in several parts: fresh-cut fruits (apple, avocado, mango, tomato, and watermelon), fresh-cut vegetables (basil leaves, green bell pepper, white cabbage, carrots, celeriac, iceberg lettuce, green onion, radicchio, spinach, and soybean sprouts), fresh-cut and button mushrooms, and small fruits (blueberries, figs, raspberries, and strawberries). The parameters of PL treatments and the specific results of each study are summarized in several tables. PL treatment aiming at reducing microbial content of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, while retaining the quality of the product is an alternative and a promising technology in the food processing.
