Ethanol vapor and saprophytic yeast treatments reduce decay and maintain quality of intact and fresh-cut sweet cherries

Dynamic controlled atmosphere and ultralow oxygen storage on ‘Gala’ mutants quality maintenance

“…3B. Similar results were obtained in sweet cherries (Bai et al, 2011) and melons (Liu et al, 2012). Perhaps, the high ethanol production by these fruits, led to a lower IEC and ethylene production, decreasing cell wall enzyme activities (Nishiyama et al, 2007;Payasi et al, 2009;Goulao & Oliveira, 2008) which maintained higher flesh firmness.…”

Ethanol reduces ripening of 'Royal Gala' apples stored in controlled atmosphere

“…These two physiological disorders may have increased fruits susceptible to the penetration and subsequent infection by pathogens. Regarding ethanol, many reports have shown that this compound can decrease decay occurrence in many fruit species, including peaches, citrus, cherries and grapes (Smilanick et al 1995, Romanazzi et al 2007, Bai et al 2011). In addition, since ethanol is a natural compound, it can be applied to fruits even during the post-harvest period (Pesis 2005).…”

Developing an antimicrobial packaging of ready-to-eat pomegranate arils based on vapors of brandy or distillery ethanol

“…1). It has to be acknowledged that the antimicrobial activity of ethanol vapors has been reported by several researchers on plant origin products e.g., fresh-cut apples, mangoes, and cherries (Bai et al, 2004;Bai, Plotto, Spotts, & Rattanapanone, 2011;Plotto, Bai, Narciso, Brecht, & Baldwin, 2006), in contrast to brandy vapors, which, from active packaging perspective, are probably approached for the first time in the present study. The inhibitory effect of both antimicrobials increased as storage temperature decreased from 20 to 4°C.…”

“…On the contrary, at 20°C, the lightness remained at significantly higher levels (p< 0.05) in arils treated with vapors of 2 mL ethanol and brandy compared to controls after 7 days(Bai, Plotto, Spotts, & Rattanapanone, 2011). The aforementioned contradictory observations indicate how differently the volatile antimicrobials may affect color parameters depending on the storage temperature.…”

“…In this context, antimicrobial packaging may be either applied as alternative to decontamination pre-packaging treatments and/or may act However, volatile antimicrobials (i.e., essential oils, extracts, and food-grade ethanol) have been adopted by both, research and food industry, due to their mild action through the evaporation of the active compounds in the headspace between food and packaging film, which exert limited impact on the sensory attributes of the product (Laird & Phillips, 2011;Ritenour, Mangrich, Beaulieu, Rab, & Saltveit, 1997). It has to be acknowledged that the antimicrobial activity of vapors of food-grade ethanol has been reported by several researchers on plant origin products e.g., fresh-cut apples, mangoes, and cherries, while several patents (i.e., Ethicap™ sachet, Freund, Japan) have been developed and commercially applied in a wide range of RTE or Ready-To-Cook products such as bakery, cheese, and fish (Bai et al, 2004;Bai, Plotto, Spotts, & Rattanapanone, 2011;Coma, 2008;Plotto, Bai, Narciso, Brecht, & Baldwin, 2006). However, from marketing and cost analysis perspective, pure ethanol may raise concerns to the food industry as well as to the consumers.…”