Caracterização da qualidade de maçãs, Cv. Fuji, minimamente processadas tratadas com aditivos.

Abstract

The minimally processed fruit sector is developing and for this reason it needs studies that helps to determine the product quality, since the processing methods damages the plant tissues and accelerates the changes of the natural characteristics of the product. This experiment assessed the effect of cold storage in apples before processing, as well as additives after processing, at the quality of the product. In the experiment it was used apples (Malus domestica, Borkh) cv. 'Fuji' and were evaluated the following characteristics: flesh color (L, a*, b*, H°), firmness (FP) , titratable acidity (TTA) , total phenols , the enzymatic activity of polyphenol oxidase (PFO), antioxidant capacity (AC), total soluble solids (°Brix - TSS) and the microbiological safety of minimally processed products. Minimal processing occurred when storing fresh apples to 1° C at 90-95% relative humidity (RH), 20, 78, 138 and 188 days. After processing, the fruits were evaluated at 3, 6, 9 and 12 days of storage at 4 ° C and 90-95% RH. As Procedure treatments, it was tested distilled water (T1), 0.5%(w/v) L-cysteine chloride (T2); 1%(w/v) L-ascorbic acid (T3), 0.5% (w/v) L-cysteine chloride + 1% (w/v) calcium chloride (T4), 1% (m/v) L-ascorbic acid + 1% (m/v) calcium chloride (T5). The experimental design was completely randomized, in a trifactorial scheme, with three replications. The A factor was composed of periods of cold storage, the B factor was composed of periods of analysis, which simulates shelf life, and the C factor was composed of chemical treatments. The storage of fresh apples for up to 78 days for cv. Fuji provides a minimally processed product less darkened (lower L* value), while it keept the content of TSS. For the TTA characteristic there was a fall in the acidity, being kept until 78 days. The lower dimming is characterized by the highest value of L*, lowest values of a* and b*, and consequently higher hue angle, being the treatments T2 and T4, which was treated with L-cysteine chloride. Regardless of the storage period of fresh apple, treatments T2, T3, T4 and T5 were effective in preserving the total phenolic compounds content and their antioxidant capacity. The microbiological analysis results, as the parameters of National Agency of Sanitary Surveillance of the Brazilian Government (RDC No.12, of January 2, 2001), allowed us to classify the minimally processed products obtained in this study as toxicologically safe, however the total coliforms, fungi and yeast analysis pointed up a microbiologic issue.