EXTENDING SHELF LIFE OF FRESH-CUT PERSIMMON 'ROJO BRILLANTE': EFFECT OF ANTIBROWNING AGENTS AND CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERES STORAGE

The aim of this work was to study the effect of antibrowning agents combined with controlled atmosphere storage to improve the quality of fresh-cut persimmon. ‘Rojo Brillante’ persimmons were harvested with an external color index (CI) of -0.57 (where, CI=1,000*a/L*b). After removing fruit astringency by application of high levels of CO2, samples were cleaned, peeled, and cut in sections. Persimmon pieces were dipped in 1% ascorbic acid (AA), 1% citric acid (CA), or in water as control. Fruit samples were then placed in 3 different atmospheres (Atm-A = 21 kPa O₂ + 0.03 kPa CO₂; Atm-D = 5 kPa O₂ + 10 kPa CO₂; Atm-F = 5 kPa O₂) during nine days at 5°C. Color (CIE L*a*b*), firmness, weight loss and visual quality were determined during storage. Control samples had lower L* and higher a* values than antioxidant-treated samples. In untreated control samples, Atm-D was the most effective reducing enzymatic browning; whereas, antioxidant-treated samples stored in Atm-F had lower hue values than those stored in the other atmospheres. In general, the firmness decreased during storage for all the treatments. Samples stored in Atm-A had the highest weight loss. In visual quality the judges ranked control samples as the most browned under all the storage conditions. Pieces treated with 1% CA and stored in Atm-A and Atm-D reached the limit of marketability after 7 days of storage, whereas the combination of 1% CA and Atm-F was evaluated above that limit during the 9 days of storage. Samples treated with 1% AA and those stored in Atm-D induced some darkening of the tissue (non-enzymatic browning), which limited the shelf life of fresh-cut persimmon and reducing the limit for application commercially. The results show that atmospheres with low O₂ combined with application of 1% CA could reduce the enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning and maintain shelf life up to nine days of storage.