Abstract
Fresh-cut produce are quite popular among consumers due to their eating ease, high quality and functional content. However, some of the processing steps taking place during minimal processing (such as cutting, peeling, draining, etc.) might speed up decay, e.g., microbial growth, dehydration or browning. When it comes to the latter, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) plays an important role, being the center of many works focused on the understanding of its reaction mechanism and the application of conservative techniques. The aim of this review study was to compare recent research about the effect of PPO on minimally processed fruits and vegetables, trying to understand the way it acts, the measurement of its activity and current treatments, such as modified atmosphere packaging, washing treatments or edible coatings, among others. In conclusion, the combination of conservation techniques (that is, hurdle technology) is vital to guarantee global quality in minimally processed fruits and vegetables, including synergistic effects which will allow the use of mild treatment conditions to decrease PPO activity. However, further research is required to clearly understand PPO inhibition in trendy techniques such as irradiation.
Highlights
In more research works about fresh-cut or minimally processed fruits compared to vegetables
The same trend was observed for research about polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and fresh-cut produce (Figure 2b), and if Figure 1 is taken into account, it can be noted that research about fresh-cut produce and its combination with PPO research are almost equivalent, pointing out the need of PPO characterization and the study of its consequences in fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in every research work in this field
Even though High-Pressure Carbon Dioxide (HPCD) has not been widely used for fresh-cut processing yet, this novel technique might be suitable for microorganism and enzyme inactivation in minimally processed produce
Summary
Processed fruits and vegetables are highly demanded by consumers [1], growing their sales all over the world, as in the case of Europe [2]. On account of the fact that fresh-cut produces come from whole vegetables and fruits, it is expected that these products have similar functional properties. They contain high levels of fiber, minerals or antioxidants such as vitamins. 1. Research works related to minimally processed fresh-cut fruits (yellow) vegetables (green). In more research works about fresh-cut or minimally processed fruits compared to vegetables. These these figures figures point point out conclusion, out the the increasing increasing interest interest in in minimally minimally processing processing so so far
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