Combination of precooling with ozone fumigation or low fluctuation of temperature for the quality modifications of postharvest sweet cherries

Abstract

The ozone fumigation device with the self‐circulation function and the low‐temperature fluctuation box with precise temperature control were, respectively, designed to study the effect of the combination of vacuum precooling with ozone fumigation or low‐temperature fluctuation treatment in the quality modifications of sweet cherries during cold storage. The results showed that all the three treatments had a positive effect on quality maintenance. Although precooling combined with low‐temperature fluctuation slightly damaged the fruit after 9 days of storage, the combination of precooling and ozone can better maintain the luster of the fruit and retain the content of total soluble solids, the titratable acid, and anthocyanin during the entire storage period. Meanwhile, it delayed fruit softening, inhibited the accumulation of malondialdehyde and activity of polyphenol oxidase. Additionally, the ultrastructure and cell wall material content indicated that ozone stress could induce shrinkage of stoma and maintain morphology of cell wall and cell structure. Practical applications Sweet cherries are delicious and juicy, but they have quite a short shelf life, limited edible period, and high cost of deep processing. Refrigeration, precooling, and ozone are effective measures to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables in the field of postharvest preservation. However, the large flow of personnel in the conventional walk‐in cold storage results in low precooling efficiency and significant temperature fluctuations, which make the cherries perishable. In addition, ozone has been evaluated as a promising disinfectant for fresh fruits, which may be used to induce resistance to postharvest decay of fruits and vegetables. Thus, in this study, a combination of precooling with ozone fumigation or low‐temperature fluctuation was used to explore the postharvest quality of sweet cherries. All results indicated that vacuum precooling combined with regular ozone fumigation treatment may be a promising technology for the preservation of sweet cherry fruit, which can effectively improve the storage quality.

Effects of Gaseous Ozone on Microbiological Quality of Andean Blackberries (Rubus glaucus Benth)

“…In the same way, Alves et al [ 55 ] found that 18 and 14 mg L −1 gaseous ozone applied to strawberries for 30 min were effective in controlling aerobic mesophiles and molds and yeasts, respectively, during 4 days of storage. In studies involving the application of ozone during storage, the exposure of sweet cherries to 2 ppm gaseous ozone for 30 min every 6 days delayed decay development and lowered decay incidence on the fruit for up to 18 days [ 56 ]. As well, treating raspberries with 8–10 ppm O 3 in cycles of 30 min once every 12 h reduced the aerobic mesophilic bacteria and fungi counts on this fruit during 3 days of storage at room temperature [ 22 ].…”

Influence of acidic electrolyzed water combined with vacuum precooling treatment on quality and antioxidant performance of fresh Lycium barbarum L.

“…Color changes in goji berries were presented in Figure 2a-c values of the three samples treated with AEW+VP were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher than those of the control groups, which means brighter coloration of the goji samples. There are several reasons for this trend: first, because the water loss caused by VP occurs on the surface and inside of the goji (Liu et al, 2021), soaking goji berries in AEW followed by VP can effectively slow down water loss in tissue so high L* values were recorded in AEW+VP groups (Dirapan et al, 2021); and second, this change may be related to the increase in antioxidant enzyme activity, which slowed down the senescence of goji so that maintained a high L* value (Patiño et al, 2018) from low respiration rate. Notably, during the entire storage period, there were also no significant differences between AEW+VP-treated samples stored at 4, 7, and 10°C.…”