MICROBIAL AND SENSORY QUALITY CHANGES IN FRESH PROCESSED MELON UNDER HIGH CARBON DIOXIDE CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE

   ‘Amarillo’ melon was fresh processed on trapeze shape sections and stored under controlled atmosphere (CA) at 5ºC up to 14 days.
By mean of a gas mixing system a continuous humidified flow (0.03 L min^-1 and 95% RH) inside 0.750 L glass jars (350 g per jar) was injected.
Gas compositions of 4 kPa O₂ + 15 kPa CO₂, 21 kPa O₂ + 15 kPa CO₂ and 21 kPa O₂ + 0 kPa CO₂ (as control) were applied.
Sensorial quality attributes, firmness and microbial counts were monitored.
At the end of storage, quality evaluations in control fall down under limit of marketability.
However, fresh-cut melon stored for 14 days under CA kept all sensorial parameters within the marketability range without significant differences among treatments.
Compared to control, both CA treatments, and particularly 4 kPa O₂ + 15 kPa CO₂, were effective to avoid softness.
At any time off-aroma was detected.
At the end of storage, moulds and yeasts counts were lower than 2 CFU/g in CA treatments and about 3 CFU/g in control.
Mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacterial counts appeared in about 2.7 and 3.8 CFU/g respectively in CA, while 4.7 and 6.6 CFU/g respectively for control were reached.