The National University is currently working on applied technologies to prolong a vegetable's life and ensure the reduction of postharvest losses via heat treatments and edible coatings.
The studies conducted by the National University determined that a heat treatment and an edible coating preserved the sensory quality of the plants; an alternative for storing minimally processed vegetables.
The research evaluated the effect of three of these technologies on the intensity of respiration and sensory quality of minimally processed vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, celery, carrots and chayote.
According to information provided by the UN, the edible coating was created using pectin with low methoxyl, 2 percent; carnauba wax, 1 percent; glycerol, 1.5 percent, and ascorbic acid, 0.05 percent.
"The heat treatment was carried out at 60 degrees C for two minutes, with the addition of ascorbic acid, 0.25 percent; citric acid, 0.5 percent, and calcium chloride, 0.025 percent.
"The chemical bath was carried out with a solution of citric acid, 0.5 percent; ascorbic acid, 0.05 percent, and calcium chloride, 0.05 percent," stated the report.
Throughout the research, the CO2 production rate was measured via the static method, monitoring space's gas composition for 24 hours at 8 ° C and a relative humidity of 90 percent.
According to agro-engineer Alejandro Escobar, a panel of seven judges took into account organoleptic characteristics such as the sensory evaluation of colour, aroma, crispness and objectionable flavour to assess the overall quality of the plants.
Experiments
The researcher, together with experts from the Intal Foundation and the Ministry of Agriculture of Antioquia, utilized a randomized complete block design, which represented each of the plants, the response variables, the respiration rate and the overall sensory quality.
"We discovered that the heat treatment and the edible coating allow the vegetables to preserve their sensory quality, although the statistical analysis showed no significant differences from the control group.
"In addition, when the heat treatment was applied, the breathing speed decreased in celery, broccoli, squash, cauliflower and carrot, " said the agro engineer.
Source: elnuevodia.com.co