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Foods
Special Issues
Sustainable Technologies for Fruits: Minimally Processing and Quality Maintenance
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Sustainable Technologies for Fruits: Minimally Processing and Quality Maintenance

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Engineering and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2021) | Viewed by 15267

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Paolo Inglese

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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, SAAF, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze build 4-I, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: fruit quality; horticultural physiology and preservation; plant biology; fruit science
Dr. Vittorio Farina

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy
Interests: fruit crops production; postharvest technology; postharvest physiology; vegetable production; postharvest handling; plant physiology; postharvest biology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Minimally processed fruits are one of the major growing segments in food retail establishments. They must be safe, wholesome, and nutritious, but the unit operations applied to the fruit during fresh-cut processing (trimmed, peeled, washed, and/or cut) tend to highly reduce shelf-life (enzymatic browning, texture decay, microbial contamination, and undesirable volatile production) rather than enhance their stability. Post-cutting treatments (the application of edible coatings, natural antimicrobials, firming agents, modified atmosphere packaging, etc.) helps to maintain quality and ensures safety during the shelf life. The quality of fresh-cut fruit products determines the final value for consumers. In fact, subsequent purchases depend upon the consumer’s satisfaction in terms of appearance, texture, taste, flavor, and nutritional content of the product. Moreover, consumers of fresh-cut products have also listed carbon footprints, waste production, traceability, and preservation of the environment as important factors. We are highly interested and encourage papers that focus on new sustainable production practices, innovative use of technology, quality evaluation, consumer attitude, and new product development in all steps of minimally processed fruit production and distribution.

Prof. Paolo Inglese
Dr. Vittorio Farina
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Fresh-cut fruit physiology
  • Minimally processed produce and quality evaluation
  • Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) application and composition
  • Methodologies and technologies for coating food surfaces
  • Effect of edible coating (EC) and their composition
  • Bioactive compounds in fresh-cut fruits: occurrence and impact of processing
  • Emerging technologies for safe, healthy, and sustainable fresh-cut produce
  • Natural antimicrobials and microbial safety
  • Equipment for fresh-cut processing
  • Marketing of fresh-cut fruit

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2700 KiB  
Article
Extending Shelf-Life and Quality of Minimally Processed Golden Delicious Apples with Three Bioactive Coatings Combined with Cinnamon Essential Oil
by Gisselle Anahí Solís-Contreras, María Consuelo Rodríguez-Guillermo, María de la Luz Reyes-Vega, Cristobal N. Aguilar, Oscar Noé Rebolloso-Padilla, José Corona-Flores, Lluvia de Abril Alexandra Soriano-Melgar and Xochitl Ruelas-Chacon
Foods 2021, 10(3), 597; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10030597 - 12 Mar 2021
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3701
Abstract
The application of coatings with essential oils for food preservation is an alternative way to keep minimally processed apple slices fresh, nutritious, safe, sensory palatable, and accessible for consumers. In the present study, the effect of three bioactive coatings on quality variables of [...] Read more.
The application of coatings with essential oils for food preservation is an alternative way to keep minimally processed apple slices fresh, nutritious, safe, sensory palatable, and accessible for consumers. In the present study, the effect of three bioactive coatings on quality variables of minimally processed Golden Delicious apple slices for 25-days at 4 °C was evaluated. The coatings were CT1-chitosan-based, CT2-guar gum-based, and CT3-composite guar gum-starch-based; all three coatings contained cinnamon essential oil and were compared with UCT0-uncoated apple slices. The quality variables evaluated were weight-loss, firmness, browning index, total phenolic content, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, respiration rate, microbial analysis, and sensory evaluation. All coatings improved the preservation and sensorial quality variables of Golden Delicious apples; however, although the CT1-chitosan-based coating was capable of extending the shelf-life of minimally processed apple, it demonstrated less sensorially favorable scores for flavor, odor, and overall acceptance attributes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Technologies for Fruits: Minimally Processing and Quality Maintenance)
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17 pages, 4197 KiB  
Article
Effects of Argon-Based and Nitrogen-Based Modified Atmosphere Packaging Technology on the Quality of Pomegranate (Punica granatum L. cv. Wonderful) Arils
by Ilenia Tinebra, Dario Scuderi, Giuseppe Sortino, Paolo Inglese and Vittorio Farina
Foods 2021, 10(2), 370; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10020370 - 9 Feb 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4992
Abstract
Ready-to-eat pomegranate arils are considered a “functional food” for their health benefits and have desirable sensory characteristics, which have caused an increasing interest by the consumers for this product. The preparation process of ready-to-eat fruit products can cause severe injuries and worsen their [...] Read more.
Ready-to-eat pomegranate arils are considered a “functional food” for their health benefits and have desirable sensory characteristics, which have caused an increasing interest by the consumers for this product. The preparation process of ready-to-eat fruit products can cause severe injuries and worsen their quality and shelf life significantly. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) has been used broadly in the last years to maintain the quality of processed fruits and showed optimal results, in spite of the possible problems caused by the depletion of O2 and corresponding accumulation of CO2 in the package. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different MAP treatments, based on nitrogen or alternatively on a noble gas, argon, in combination with refrigerated storage (0, 4, 8, 12, and 16 days at 4 ± 1 °C and 90 ± 5% RH) on the qualitative parameters of pomegranate arils with the aim to prolong their post-harvest life maintaining the original quality. The argon-based MAP treatment (MAPAr) was the one that provided the best results, assuring a limited loss of weight and juice content. The use of noble gas allowed to maintain a high sugar/acid ratio until 16 days from packaging. Sensory analysis on all MAP treated arils and, on the juice, obtained from them were carried out, and judges showed a preference for MAPAr treated arils and juice until day 12 from packaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Technologies for Fruits: Minimally Processing and Quality Maintenance)
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17 pages, 1687 KiB  
Article
Effect of Three Different Aloe vera Gel-Based Edible Coatings on the Quality of Fresh-Cut “Hayward” Kiwifruits
by Roberta Passafiume, Raimondo Gaglio, Giuseppe Sortino and Vittorio Farina
Foods 2020, 9(7), 939; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9070939 - 16 Jul 2020
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 5363
Abstract
In recent years, the market for minimally processed fruit has increased. Fresh-cut fruits are characterized by a short shelf life due to the processing phases that accelerate the ripening courses. The aim of this work is to analyze the effect on the quality [...] Read more.
In recent years, the market for minimally processed fruit has increased. Fresh-cut fruits are characterized by a short shelf life due to the processing phases that accelerate the ripening courses. The aim of this work is to analyze the effect on the quality of fresh-cut Hayward kiwis of three different edible coatings based on (1) Aloe vera gel, (2) Aloe vera gel + hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and (3) Aloe vera gel + lemon essential oil. Fruit firmness, weight loss, color, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, microbial load and sensory analysis were evaluated as fresh after 2, 4, 7 and 10 days. Aloe vera gel and Aloe vera gel + lemon essential oil maintained the best values, as they acted as a barrier to gas exchange and further reduced the microbial load. These results were confirmed by sensory analysis: Aloe vera gel + hydroxypropyl methylcellulose does not alter the natural taste of kiwi slices, Aloe vera gel + lemon essential oil gives the characteristic taste of lemon essential oil and Aloe vera gel gives an herbaceous taste. The Aloe vera gel, in combination with these additives, maintains the ability to preserve the quality of fresh-cut kiwifruit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Technologies for Fruits: Minimally Processing and Quality Maintenance)
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