ARS | Publication request: COMBINED OZONE AND ACTIVE OXYGEN TREATMENT OF TOMATOES AND BANANAS DELAYS RIPENING AND REDUCES QUALITY DETERIORATION AND MICROBIAL GROWTH

Submitted to: Abstract of International Horticultural Congress
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 15, 2006
Publication Date: August 13, 2006
Citation: Luo, Y., Turner, E.R., Conway, W.S. 2006. Combined ozone and active oxygen treatment of tomatoes and bananas delays ripening and reduces quality deterioration and microbial growth [abstract]. International Horticultural Congress. Paper No. 1703.

Technical Abstract: Green bananas and mature tomatoes were subjected to a combination of ozone and active oxygen or ambient air (control) treatment at 10 'C for up to 25 days. Visual observation revealed that bananas stored in the active oxygen and ozone chamber remained greener than those stored in the control chamber after the first week of storage. The treated bananas retained significantly lower hue angle values than the control in all three sites (top, middle and bottom) measured after fourteen and twenty-five days of storage. The tops of the bananas exposed to ozone and active oxygen were still noticeably greener than control bananas when measured on day twenty-five, suggesting that the combination treatment was able to delay the ripening process. Also, fungal growth was visible only on the control bananas during storage. Decay indices calculated for tomatoes stored in ozone and active oxygen were 25% and 43% lower than those calculated for control tomatoes on days 14 and 25, respectively. More fungal growth was visibly apparent on control tomatoes than on treated fruit. The ozone and active oxygen treatment evaluated in this study provides a chemical residual free alternative for maintaining postharvest quality and is therefore of potential value to the produce industry.