Influence of Vacuum Packaging on the Shelf-Life of Minimally Processed Jackfruit(Artocarpus heterophyllus L.) Bulbs

摘要

A study was carried out to investigate the influence of vacuum packaging in enhancing the postharvest shelf-life and maintaining quality of minimally processed jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L) bulbs under different storage conditions. The results showed no significant differences (p<0.05) between corresponding samples of the different packages. The sensory evaluation revealed that the pre-treated samples were better in quality than the control samples. Citric acid pre-treatment in synergy withvacuum packaging was found to be very effective in retaining the colour and ascorbic acid, minimizing the physiological loss in weight, restricting changes in ripening index ("brix / acidity ratio), pH and reducing sugars and deterioration in sensory attributes of the minimally processed jackfruit bulbs during storage. The PP packages were found to be better than PE packages in limiting the microbial contamination. Citric acid pre-treatment along with vacuum packaging and deep-freeze storage enhanced the shelf-life of the minimally processed jackfruit bulbs to 3 weeks under refrigeration storage (3-5°C) and at least 6 weeks in deep-freeze (-12°C) storage.