Efficacy of hot water treatment as sanitizer for minimally processed table grape

Ready to eat fruit are greatly appreciated by consumers for convenience and freshness. However, postharvest degradation of these products limits the marketability and the quality. In order to delay this undesirable aspect, the influence of mild heat treatment on the postharvest quality ready to eat table grape was investigated. The sample grapes were dipped in a water bath at 50 °C for 10 min, minimally processed (stemless or with cap stem), packed and stored at 5 °C for 8 d. Fruit treated with room temperature water were used as control. Texture, titratable acidity, and soluble solids content (TSSC) were investigated. Microbial analysis was made to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment. Texture and quality parameters were not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by either heat treatment or stem removal. The heat treatments inhibited the microbial growth during storage. The results confirmed that water treatment at 50 °C/10 min is an optimal combination that can be applied to ready to eat grapes as an effective treatment to reduce postharvest microbial growth throughout the supply chain.