Modelling of litchi shelf life based on the entropy weight method

Abstract

Abstract The shelf life of litchi is difficult to predict because multiple quality indices should be considered; thus, the aim of this study is to introduce a new method by simultaneously considering several sensorial, physical and chemical attributes of litchi based on the entropy weight method (EWM). The objective weight of each litchi quality index was obtained by the EWM, and the comprehensive evaluation indices that reflected the overall changes in litchi quality were calculated by the linear weighted sum. Then, the comprehensive evaluation indices were used in the accelerated shelf life testing (ASLT) method to predict the shelf life of litchi. The results showed that the kinetics of the litchi comprehensive evaluation indices were described by the zero-order reaction, and the regression coefficients r2 were greater than 0.92. The activation energy Ea was 43.927 kJ mol−1, the predicted shelf life of litchi was 20.30 d at 278 K, and the relative error between the experimental and predicted shelf life was only 1.50%. In summary, the approach presented in this paper can integrate litchi information from multiple quality indices simultaneously to avoid the overestimation or underestimation of shelf life predictions.