QUALITY OF FRESH-CUT COMPOSED OF VEGETABLES
Fresh-cut products are fruits or vegetables that have been trimmed, peeled and/or cut into a fully usable product, which is subsequently packaged to offer consumers high nutrition, convenience and flavour while maintaining freshness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of storage time on the quality of fresh-cut product made up of four vegetables: cassava, carrot, peruvian carrot and yam, stored at 5ºC, using different packings (expanded polystyrene trays covered with PVC, multi-shell packing with vacuum and polyethylene terephthalate - PET). The vegetables were sanitized in sodium hypochlorite solution (200 mg.L-1) for 15 minutes, peeled manually, sliced (±2 cm thick). The processed product was sanitized in hypochlorite solution (50 mg.L-1) for 5 minutes, drained in plastic sieves and packed; and the cassava and peruvian carrot were immersed in solution of ascorbic acid (1%) for 2 minutes. The following analyses were performed every 5 days: pH, soluble solids, mass loss, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations inside the packages and appearance. The pH and the soluble solids of the vegetables increased during storage, except the vegetables stored under vacuum. The vegetables showed low mass loss until the 10th day of storage. Storage under vacuum presented higher concentrations of CO2 and lower of O2. According to sensory evaluation, the appearance of the vegetables was maintained acceptable for consumption until the end of the storage period. In conclusion, the results showed that the shelf-life of fresh-cut composed of cassava, carrot, peruvian carrot and yam is 10 days, at 5ºC, under vacuum.