Vol. 37 No. 1 (2023): Advances in Horticultural Science - Special issue Postharvest
Articles

Effect of microwave mild heat treatment on postharvest quality of table grapes

M.L.V. de Chiara
Department of Sciences of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (DAFNE), University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
N. De Simone
Department of Sciences of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (DAFNE), University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
G. Spano
Department of Sciences of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (DAFNE), University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
M.L. Amodio
Department of Sciences of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (DAFNE), University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
G. Colelli
Department of Sciences of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (DAFNE), University of Foggia, Via Napoli, 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.

Published 2023-01-17

Keywords

  • Botrytis cinerea,
  • external appearance,
  • microbiological quality,
  • microwave energy,
  • mold development,
  • ready-to-use grape
  • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

de Chiara, M. L. V., De Simone, N., Spano, G., Amodio, M. L., & Colelli, G. . (2023). Effect of microwave mild heat treatment on postharvest quality of table grapes. Advances in Horticultural Science, 37(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.36253/ahsc-13908

Funding data

  • Regione Puglia
    Grant numbers Regional project “Research for Innovation”, funded by “POR PUGLIA FESR FSE 2014- 2020 - Azione 10.4 - interventi volti a promuovere la ricerca e per l’istruzione universitaria”

Abstract

Table grapes are characterized by high susceptibility to mold development during post-harvest, mostly due to Botrytis cinerea. Microwave application on ready-to-eat product can represent an alternative to antifungal treatment. With the aim of identifying the maximum energy that can be applied on grape without detrimental effects a Central Composite Design was developed testing the application of 10 combinations of treatment time (seconds) and microwave power (Watt). As a result, energies above 8000 kJ negatively affected the sensorial quality of fresh product, both in the presence and absence of B. cinerea inoculum (106 log CFU g-1). The physico-chemical parameters did not show significant differences, but two time/power combinations improved sensory quality of table grape, being selected for the subsequent packaging trial: 14 s/100 W and 80 s/100 W. Treatments were applied before or after packaging in polypropylene bags. At the end of storage period, 100 W applied for 80 seconds before packaging led to a better external appearance of the product than the other treatments, maintaining an intermediate level of mesophilic bacterial load and no significant differences in terms of nutritional quality. 80 seconds at 100 Watt combined with packaging can represent a valuable starting point for further experiments.

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