EVALUATION OF THE BROWNING ACTIVITY OF FRESH CUT PINEAPPLE STORED IN SUPER ATMOSPHERIC CONDITION

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of super atmospheric condition on the browning activity of minimally processed (MP) pineapple stored at 10°C for 15 days. The MP pineapples cut in longitudinal shapes (5 cm) were packed in biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) packaging. The packages were flushed with 60 (T1), 80 (T2) and 99.98% (T3) oxygen. Untreated sample was used as control (T0). Samples were evaluated for colour (L*, a*, b* and hue), pH and titratable acidity (TTA). Activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was also monitored. Results showed that the PPO activity of the samples treated with 80% oxygen was significantly lower compared to the control. This finding was supported by hue value which showed that samples treated with 80% oxygen had the lowest value. Furthermore, sample treated with 80% oxygen also had the highest TA. No significant difference was observed on the pH of the treated and control samples until the end of the storage period.