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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #111697
Title: CHARACTERISTICS OF FRESH-CUT HONEYDEW (CUCUMIS XMELO L.) AVAILABLE TO PROCESSORS IN WINTER AND SUMMER AND ITS QUALITY MAINTENANCE BY MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING

Author
item BAI, JINHE - OSAKA ENV.PRO.AUT., JAPAN
item Saftner, Robert
item WATADA, ALLEY - RETIRE SY ARS EMPLOYEE
item LEE, YUEN - UNIV. OF DIST. OF COL, DC

Submitted to: Journal of Food Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables are a rapidly growing segment of the retail and food service horticultural industry. Various kinds of packaged fresh-cut melons are among the most common fresh-cut fruits available in the marketplace. While fresh-cut products have met consumers' desire for convenience, product quality and shelf life in particular are still important challenges for fresh-cut fruit. A shelf life of up to 10 days for fresh-cut melons is desirable in the distribution chain, but retail stores seldom can market the product for more than 3 days. We found that actively flushing packages of fresh-cut cantaloupe with a low oxygen/high carbon dioxide atmosphere extends the shelf life without adversely affecting the quality of the product. Adoption of this method should be beneficial to both consumers and producers of fresh-cut melons.

Technical Abstract: Fresh-cut cantaloupe cubes were placed in film-sealed containers in which the internal gas mixture was attained passively (pMAP), was actively flushed with 4 kPa oxygen plus 10 kPa carbon dioxide (aMAP), or was maintained near atmospheric levels by perforating the film (PFP). While both pMAP and aMAP maintained the salable quality of melon cubes for 9 days at 5 degrees C, aMAP maintained quality better than pMAP. The benefit of aMAP was indicated by better color retention, and by reduced respiration rate and microbial population compared with pMAP. Shelf life of cubes in PFP was only 5 to 7 days at 5 degrees C and its rapid decline was due to tissue translucency and/or off-odor development.