Articles
Innovative sanitizing treatments with encapsulated vinegar powder to extend the shelf life of fresh-cut lettuce
Article number
1442_18
Pages
131 – 138
Language
English
Abstract
Fresh-cut (FC) vegetables are products very valuable to consumers due to their convenience, healthiness and freshness.
FC lettuce is one of the most common FC vegetables.
However, the common industrial sanitation of FC lettuce is still done with conventional chemical treatments like sodium hypochlorite, due to public health concern, effective green alternatives are needed.
In this regard, vinegar has traditionally been used as a natural preservative owing to its high antimicrobial activity.
Nevertheless, the liquid vinegar treatments may affect the product quality due to the high acidity of these treatments.
Thus, this study aimed to investigate the use of innovative sanitating treatments with different encapsulated vinegar powders to extend the shelf life of FC lettuce during storage at 4°C for up to 10 days, and to preserve microbial and sensory quality.
These innovative treatments induced initial microbial reductions of 0.5-1 log units just after packaging.
The controlled release of antimicrobial compounds further slowed down the microbial growth of samples after 10 days showing the 0.4%-treatment 3.5, 2.8 and 2 log reduction for mesophiles, psychrophiles and Enterobacteriaceae loads, respectively, compared to the untreated samples (6.4, 5.6 and 5 log CFU g‑1, respectively). Browning was controlled in samples with vinegar treatments for 7 days, contrary to the untreated samples from day 3. The 0.4%-treatment remained even free of browning after 10 days of storage, leading to better and acceptable aroma (>3 points), particularly for V2-treatment.
In conclusion, these promising results suggest that use of encapsulated vinegar represents an effective natural alternative to conventional sanitizers to control the microbial growth of FC lettuce.
FC lettuce is one of the most common FC vegetables.
However, the common industrial sanitation of FC lettuce is still done with conventional chemical treatments like sodium hypochlorite, due to public health concern, effective green alternatives are needed.
In this regard, vinegar has traditionally been used as a natural preservative owing to its high antimicrobial activity.
Nevertheless, the liquid vinegar treatments may affect the product quality due to the high acidity of these treatments.
Thus, this study aimed to investigate the use of innovative sanitating treatments with different encapsulated vinegar powders to extend the shelf life of FC lettuce during storage at 4°C for up to 10 days, and to preserve microbial and sensory quality.
These innovative treatments induced initial microbial reductions of 0.5-1 log units just after packaging.
The controlled release of antimicrobial compounds further slowed down the microbial growth of samples after 10 days showing the 0.4%-treatment 3.5, 2.8 and 2 log reduction for mesophiles, psychrophiles and Enterobacteriaceae loads, respectively, compared to the untreated samples (6.4, 5.6 and 5 log CFU g‑1, respectively). Browning was controlled in samples with vinegar treatments for 7 days, contrary to the untreated samples from day 3. The 0.4%-treatment remained even free of browning after 10 days of storage, leading to better and acceptable aroma (>3 points), particularly for V2-treatment.
In conclusion, these promising results suggest that use of encapsulated vinegar represents an effective natural alternative to conventional sanitizers to control the microbial growth of FC lettuce.
Authors
M.A. Martínez-Sánchez, G.B. Martínez-Hernández, A. López-Gómez
Keywords
alpha-cyclodextrin, buffered vinegar, green sanitizers, by-products, quality, safety
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