Analysis of Agricultural Food Physicochemical and Sensory Properties

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Product Quality and Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 February 2025 | Viewed by 1730

Special Issue Editors

United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, 64 Nowelo St., Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Interests: food science; shelf life; active packaging; encapsulation; postharvest preservation
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, 64 Nowelo St., Hilo, HI 96720, USA
Interests: active packaging; encapsulation; antimicrobial; antioxidant; postharvest preservation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As we navigate the complexities of meeting the nutritional needs of a burgeoning population, it remains vitally important to scrutinize the physicochemical and sensory properties of agricultural food products. This endeavor not only contributes to the enhancement of food quality, but also plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer preferences and ensuring sustainability of the food supply chain.

The physicochemical attributes of agricultural food products encompass a wide array of factors, including composition, structure and stability. Understanding these properties is essential for optimizing production processes, mitigating post-harvest losses and meeting regulatory standards. From the moisture content of fruits to the lipid profile of grains, each property contributes to the overall quality and safety of the end product. Through advanced analytical techniques, researchers can unravel the intricacies of these physicochemical properties, offering insights that guide both agricultural practices and food processing methodologies.

This Special Issue focuses on research relating to the components of food, and their nutritional, physiological, sensory, flavor and microbiological aspects that affect the physicochemical and sensory properties of agricultural food. All types of articles, including original research, opinions and reviews, are welcome.

Dr. Chang Shu
Dr. Xiuxiu Sun
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • food technology
  • physicochemical analyze
  • sensory evaluation
  • consumer preference
  • edible crops
  • shelf life
  • postharvest technology

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4287 KiB  
Article
Effects of Pneumatic Defoliation on Fruit Quality and Skin Coloration in ‘Fuji’ Apples
by Nay Myo Win, Jingi Yoo, Van Giap Do, Sangjin Yang, Soon-Il Kwon, Hun-Joong Kweon, Seonae Kim, Youngsuk Lee, In-Kyu Kang and Juhyeon Park
Agriculture 2024, 14(9), 1582; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14091582 - 11 Sep 2024
Viewed by 481
Abstract
Fruit skin color and physical quality are important for customer acceptability and market value. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of pneumatic defoliation on the fruit quality, coloration, and anthocyanin content of ‘Fuji’ apples. Apple trees were subjected to no defoliation [...] Read more.
Fruit skin color and physical quality are important for customer acceptability and market value. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of pneumatic defoliation on the fruit quality, coloration, and anthocyanin content of ‘Fuji’ apples. Apple trees were subjected to no defoliation (control) and defoliation at low (0.6 bar) and high (0.9 bar) air pressure 20 days before harvest at 1 km/h of tractor speed. High-defoliation treatment increased the leaf damage rate but did not significantly affect the defoliation rate compared to low-defoliation treatment. Additionally, photosynthetically active radiation and solar irradiance inside the tree canopies were highest in the high-defoliation group, followed by the low-defoliation and control groups. With the exception of higher firmness in the high-defoliation treatment, pneumatic defoliation treatments had little effect on fruit size and weight, titratable acidity, soluble solids content, the starch pattern index, and the sunburn incidence of fruit. Compared with that of the control group, both defoliation treatments significantly increased the a* and C values and decreased the ho values of the fruit color. Moreover, both defoliation treatments significantly increased anthocyanin content and upregulated the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes (MdPAL, MdCHS, MdCHI, MdF3H, MdANS, MdANS, MdUFGT) and the transcription factor (MdMYB10). A Pearson′s correlation analysis also showed that anthocyanin production was strongly correlated with each of the anthocyanin biosynthesis genes, especially in the pneumatic defoliation treatments. Conclusively, the results show that pneumatic defoliation at low pressure bars could be an effective strategy for improving the red coloration of ‘Fuji’ apples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Analysis of Agricultural Food Physicochemical and Sensory Properties)
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15 pages, 2865 KiB  
Article
Effect of Near-Freezing Temperature Storage on the Quality and Organic Acid Metabolism of Apple Fruit
by Chang Shu, Bangdi Liu, Handong Zhao, Kuanbo Cui and Weibo Jiang
Agriculture 2024, 14(7), 1057; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14071057 - 30 Jun 2024
Viewed by 717
Abstract
Organic acids play critical roles in fruit physiological metabolism and sensory quality. However, the conventional storage of apple fruit at 0 ± 0.1 °C cannot maintain fruit acidity efficiently. This study investigated near-freezing temperature (NFT) storage for ‘Golden Delicious’ apples, and the quality [...] Read more.
Organic acids play critical roles in fruit physiological metabolism and sensory quality. However, the conventional storage of apple fruit at 0 ± 0.1 °C cannot maintain fruit acidity efficiently. This study investigated near-freezing temperature (NFT) storage for ‘Golden Delicious’ apples, and the quality parameters, organic acid content, and malate metabolism were studied. The results indicate that NFT storage at −1.7 ± 0.1 °C effectively maintained the postharvest quality of apple fruit when compared to traditional storage at 0 ± 0.1 °C. Fruit that underwent NFT storage showed a better appearance and lower respiratory rate, ethylene production, weight loss, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content but higher firmness and soluble solids content. Further, fruit after NFT storage contained higher titratable acid (18.75%), malate (51.61%), citrate (36.59%), and succinate (2.12%) content when compared to the control after 250 days. This was achieved by maintaining higher cytosolic NAD-dependent malate dehydrogenase (cyNAD-MDH), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), vacuolar H+-ATPase (V-ATPase), and vacuolar inorganic pyrophosphatase (V-PPase) activities that promote malate biosynthesis and accumulation while inhibiting enzyme activity that is responsible for malate decomposition, including phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase kinase (PEPCK) as well as the cytosolic NAD phosphate-dependent malic enzyme (cyNADP-ME). Further, storage at NFTs maintained a higher expression of malate biosynthesis-related genes (MdcyNAD-MDH and MdPEPC) and transport-related genes (MdVHA and MdVHP) while suppressing malate consumption-related genes (MdcyME and MdPEPCK). The results demonstrate that NFT storage could be an effective application for apple fruit, which maintains postharvest quality and alleviates organic acid degradation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Analysis of Agricultural Food Physicochemical and Sensory Properties)
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