Fresh-cut apple: effect of CaCl2 dips on firmness and quality

Marketing of fresh-cut produce has increased rapidly due to increased consumer demand for fresh and convenient foods. However, they have increased perishability and shorter shelf-life as compared with intact fruits. Firmness loss in fresh-cut apple are the main problems associated with quality loss, even under cold storage. Fresh-cut Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Scarlet Spur apple were sliced, dipped in calcium chloride and in anti-browning solutions, packed and stored for 5 days at 4°C. Changes in headspace atmosphere, firmness and sensory quality were measured during storage period. A significant reduction in the rates of O2 depletion and CO2 production was observed in all the samples. Treatments had beneficial effects on maintaing flesh firmness and reducing cut surface browning. Soluble Solid Contents generally increased during fresh-cut storage, but without significantly differences between treated slices and control. Firmness and quality attributes of the treated samples up to 5 days of storage showed no significant differences compared with the fresh apple, so they would be commercially acceptable at least until day 5 of storage