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Fresh-cut Vegetables (fresh-cut + vegetable)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Chemistry100%

Selected Abstracts

Retention of Quality and Nutritional Value of 13 Fresh-Cut Vegetables Treated with Low-Dose Radiation

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 7 2008
X. Fan
ABSTRACT:, Improving the microbial safety while maintaining quality of fresh fruits and vegetables will increase consumer confidence in fresh produce. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of irradiation at 1 kGy, a dose that potentially inactivates E. coli O157:H7 by 5 logs, on the quality of 13 common fresh-cut vegetables: iceberg, romaine, green and red leaf lettuce, spinach, tomato, cilantro, parsley, green onion, carrot, broccoli, red cabbage, and celery. The results showed that the appearance of irradiated samples was similar to the nonirradiated ones except that irradiated carrots, celery, cilantro, and green onions had higher appearance scores than corresponding nonirradiated vegetables. There was no difference in the instrumental texture between irradiated samples and nonirradiated ones. The aroma of several irradiated vegetables was significantly better than controls after 14-d storage, because these control samples decayed or senesced. The 1 kGy irradiation did not affect vitamin C content of most vegetables; however, irradiated green and red leaf lettuce had 24% to 53% lower vitamin C contents than the controls. Our results suggest that most fresh-cut fruits and vegetables tested can tolerate up to 1 kGy irradiation without significant losses in any of the quality attributes. [source]

Sanitation Procedure Affects Biochemical and Nutritional Changes of Shredded Carrots

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 2 2007
Saśl Ruiz-Cruz
ABSTRACT:, Fresh-cut vegetables are considered convenient but with less nutritional quality compared to raw natural produce. Carrots are highly appreciated because of their carotene and antioxidant nutrients, but processing requires an appropriate sanitation procedure that ensures microbiological safety to consumers. The effect of the sanitation processing on the nutritional composition of shredded carrots was studied. Treatments tested were tap water, 200 ppm sodium hypochlorite (Cl), 40 ppm peroxyacetic acid (PA), and 100, 250, and 500 ppm acidified sodium chlorite (ASC). Measured parameters were oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC), total phenolics and carotenoids, sugars, and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and peroxidase (POD) activity. Shredded carrots sanitized with ASC retained higher levels of sugars, carotene, and antioxidant capacity. ASC also delayed the PAL and POD activity. These results show the importance of evaluating nutritional parameters during processing stages, since minimal processing does not necessarily imply loss of nutritional value. Furthermore, the availability of fresh-cut produce may increase the intake of nutrients, with a positive effect on health. [source]

Biochemical changes in cut vs. intact lamb's lettuce (Valerianella olitoria) leaves during storage

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2009
Antonio Ferrante
Summary Consumers are oriented towards fresh-cut vegetables that provide phytonutrients useful for preventing stress-related diseases. The aim of this work was to evaluate the cut operations on the quality changes of lamb's lettuce (Valerianella olitoria L.) cv. Trofy during storage at 4 °C for 8 days. Results showed that chlorophyll and carotenoids reduction was observed after 8 days of storage. In both treatments, total carotenoids after 8 days decreased from 20 to 16 mg g,1 FW. Free and total phenols increased with storage in both treatments. Total phenols were 23% higher in control (32 ,mol g,1 FW) compared to cut leaves (25 ,mol g,1 FW) after 8 days of storage. Anthocyanins increased after 8 days and reached 30 mg 100 g,1 FW without significant difference between treatments. Ascorbic acid (AsA) and dehydroascorbic (DHA) acid increased in cut leaves compared to control. After 1 day AsA concentration was 3 300 nmol g,1 FW in cut leaves, while in control leaves was 1 500 nmol g,1 FW. Analogously AsA + DHA was higher in cut leaves, 4 100 nmol g,1 FW, while in control leaves the mean was 3 000 nmol g,1 FW. After 5 days of storage the values of AsA returned to initial values, while AsA + DHA were lower. [source]

Retention of Quality and Nutritional Value of 13 Fresh-Cut Vegetables Treated with Low-Dose Radiation

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 7 2008
X. Fan
ABSTRACT:, Improving the microbial safety while maintaining quality of fresh fruits and vegetables will increase consumer confidence in fresh produce. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of irradiation at 1 kGy, a dose that potentially inactivates E. coli O157:H7 by 5 logs, on the quality of 13 common fresh-cut vegetables: iceberg, romaine, green and red leaf lettuce, spinach, tomato, cilantro, parsley, green onion, carrot, broccoli, red cabbage, and celery. The results showed that the appearance of irradiated samples was similar to the nonirradiated ones except that irradiated carrots, celery, cilantro, and green onions had higher appearance scores than corresponding nonirradiated vegetables. There was no difference in the instrumental texture between irradiated samples and nonirradiated ones. The aroma of several irradiated vegetables was significantly better than controls after 14-d storage, because these control samples decayed or senesced. The 1 kGy irradiation did not affect vitamin C content of most vegetables; however, irradiated green and red leaf lettuce had 24% to 53% lower vitamin C contents than the controls. Our results suggest that most fresh-cut fruits and vegetables tested can tolerate up to 1 kGy irradiation without significant losses in any of the quality attributes. [source]