The effects of modified atmosphere packaging on biochemical parameters and sensory properties of pomegranate seeds during cold storage

Author
Dornoush Jafarpour
Assistant professor, Department of Food Science and Technology, Islamic Azad University of Fasa Branch, Fars, Iran
10.52547/fsct.18.112.261
Abstract
Iran is one of the largest producers of pomegranate fruit in the world. Plenty of pomegranates produced are freshly consumed; however, fresh pomegranate consumption is not easy due to its nature. Pomegranate seeds are never sold fresh as in other ready-to-eat fruit packages in stores. For this purpose, in the present study, fresh pomegranate seeds were packaged in polyethylene-polyamide packages under atmospheric conditions modified with carbon dioxide: oxygen: nitrogen in three compounds: 15:10:75, 30: 0: 70, 0: 0: 100 were packaged and kept in refrigerator for two weeks. Pomegranate seeds were evaluated for sensory properties, biochemical parameters and the growth rate of yeast, Enterobacteriaceae, psychrophilic and mesophilic microorganisms. The results showed that packed pomegranate seeds in the presence of the highest amount of carbon dioxide (30% carbon dioxide+ 70% nitrogen) were significantly different from the other treatments, had the longest shelf life and more score in terms of sensory properties. It was also found that high levels of carbon dioxide in packaging significantly reduced the growth of psychrophilic, mesophilic, Enterobacteriaceae and yeast microorganisms.
Keywords
Pomegranate seeds
Modified atmosphere packaging
shelf life
Quality

Subjects

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