Effects of modified atmosphere packaging on quality attributes and physiological responses of fresh-cut crisphead lettuce

摘要

The present work aimed at evaluating quality attributes and physiological behavior of fresh-cut crisphead lettuce stored under active modified atmospheres and refrigeration. Lettuce heads ?￠????Ver???′nica?￠???? were commercially harvested in Brasilia, Brazil, and were minimally processed as strips and packed in polypropylene bags with two different active modified atmospheres, and stored at 5???°C for 14 days. Every two-day packages were sampled for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and ethylene evolution, oxygen consumption, total chlorophyll content, polyphenoloxidase, and peroxidase activities. It was observed that CO 2 and ethylene evolution increased during the first two days after processing for all treatments as a response to mechanical stresses. Polyphenoloxidase and peroxidase activity presented a slight increase right after processing but showed a tendency to reduce during the experimental period. It was concluded that active modified atmospheres had no significant effects on quality attributes and physiological behavior of fresh-cut lettuce considering the conditions the experiments were carried out.