Changes in nutritional properties of minimally processed fresh fruit during storage

The aim of this work was to monitor the nutritional quality changes of a mixed fruit salad stored for 6 days at two different temperatures: 4° and 10°C. A commercial 200 g fruit salad (25% apple, 25% pineapple, 25% grape, 25% orange or nectarine) was tested. During cold storage the following parameters were evaluated: carotenoids, vitamin C, anthocyanin content, total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity. Changes in carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations were also monitored. The shelf life of the fruit salad kept at 4°C was longer than that kept at 10°C; the latter had an accelerated vitamin C degradation, lower phenolic content and lower total antioxidant capacity at the end of the storage period. The higher the storage temperature, the greater was the quality loss.