engleski

Processing of minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Challenges of developing optimal processing and distribution systems for highly perishable products

The market demand for minimally processed fruits and vegetables (MPFV) has undergone an important rise during the last decade because of busy lifestyles, increasing purchasing power, and health-conscious consumers. Besides, consumers are putting increased emphasis on convenience (ready-to-use and/or ready-to-eat) as well as on a fresh-like fruits and vegetables quality while containing only natural ingredients. The food service industry, also, wants readily available fruits and vegetables that are minimally processed. Minimal processing has been defined as a combination of procedures (e.g., washing, sorting, trimming, peeling, sometimes disinfecting, air drying, possibly slicing or shredding, etc.) that do not affect the fresh-like quality of food, and at the same time, lower the labor, cost and food safety. Packaging of the MPFV should be also considered as one of the unit operations in the preparation and preservation of these products. The most minimally processed fruits and vegetables are less stable (easily altered during processing) than the original (raw) materials. Their shelf life is affected by many factors, including variety, stage of ripeness at processing and storage conditions (temperature and atmosphere). For MPFV, the desired microbial, sensory, and nutritional shelf life is about 21 days, but preferable even longer, depending on market. To ensure a certain shelf life (long enough for the distribution to the consumers) of the MPFV a storing with refrigeration at the appropriate temperature is needed too. To combat deterioration problems, which can shorten shelf life of the MPFV, a numerous methods for the processing and storage (preservation) have been developed. They include modified-atmosphere packaging, moderate-vacuum packaging, active packaging, use of edible films and coatings, use of novel or new disinfectants and/or preservatives, irradiation, non-thermal physical treatments and other.

Minimally processed fruits and vegetables

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