Improving the shelf-life and quality of fresh and minimally-processed fruits and vegetables for a modern food industry: A comprehensive critical review from the traditional technologies into the most promising advancements

Abstract

The market size of fresh and minimally-processed fruits and vegetables (MPFVs) have grown rapidly in the last years as a result of consumer attitudes change due to their increasing use in prepared mixed salad for fresh, healthy and convenient food. Handling and mechanical operations of cutting and peeling induce injures and release of on-site cellular contents which promote the growth of harmful microbes. Chlorine has been widely adopted in fresh and MPFVs disinfection in washing due to its low cost and high efficacy against a broad spectrum of microorganisms; but, continuous replenishment of chlorine into high organic wash water can promote the formation of suspected carcinogenic compounds. There is a real need to find new alternatives to chlorine to preserve MPFVs quality for longer time. Although several methods and chemicals can be used to achieve similar reduction of microorganism counts without the production of harmful compounds, nor compromising the quality of MPFVs produce, fewer amount of them have gained widespread acceptance by the food industry. The challenge of this work was to give an upgraded level of understanding for producers and retailers to underpin future research directions for a modern food industry in order to resolve existing issues that limit fresh-cut quality and shelf-life. This paper covers a comprehensive review to improve shelf-life and quality of MPFVs, from the traditional technologies toward the most promising advancements.

Keywords:

• Chlorine alternative
• Foodborne bacteria
• Fresh produce
• Spoilage microorganism