Minimally process does not affect nutritional content of blackberries

Minimal process of fruit and vegetables involves different operations (washing, packaging and, often, cutting) that increase the perishability of the final product and cause a decrease in its nutritional properties. Blackberry are known to be rich in antioxidant compounds (polyphenols and anthocyanin), and it is desirable that the ready-to-eat product maintains, as much as possible, the nutritional properties of the raw fruit. In this work three blackberry cultivars (Chester, Arapaho and Triple Crown) grown in the hills (Valle Imagna-BG-Italy) or in the plain (Arcagna-LO-Italy) were evaluated after minimal processing. After washing, fruit were packed in polypropylene bowls (100 g per bowl), sealed with a film (50 ?m thick; O2TR: 47.6 cm3 m-2 d-1 bar-1; CO2TR: 217 cm3 m-2 d-1 bar-1) and stored at 3?C. After 0, 3, 6 and 8 days, different quality parameters of the fruit were evaluated: firmness (compression), soluble solids content (SSC), acidity, color (a*, b*, Hue), total anthocyanin (TA), total polyphenols (TP) and antioxidant activity (DPPH). All the cultivars, especially if grown in the hills, showed a slight decrease in firmness during shelf-life, however, they had adequate firmness values (0.25-0.30 kg) until the end of the storage. Blackberries grown in the plain had higher SSC and Hue (more blue color) and lower acidity than those coming from the hills. All the cultivars showed similar polyphenols content, apart from the cv Chester grown in the plain that was characterized by a rather high TP content (330 mg GAE/100 g fw). The cv Chester was the richest in TA followed by Arapaho and Triple Crown. TA content was always higher when fruits were grown in the plain with respect to the hills. Minimally processing did not importantly affect TA, TP content or DPPH and the nutritional content of the fruit at the end of storage was not statistically different from the harvest. All the evaluated cultivar showed good physico-chemical parameters and nutritional properties throughout the storage and, then, they have an interesting potential as ready-to-eat product. ? SourcesQuality and nutritional properties of ready-to-eat blackberry from different cultivars and pedoclimatic conditionsMarina Buccheri1, Patrizia De Vecchi1, Virginia Ughini2, Tommaso Eccher3, Giuseppe Granelli3, Roberto Lo Scalzo1, Giovanna Cortellino11CREA, Unit? di Ric.per i proc. dell'ind agroal, via Venezian, 26, 20133 Milano, Italy2Universit? Cattolica S.C.-Piacenza Italy, Dip di Sc. delle Produzioni Vegetali sost., Facolt? di Sc. Agr. Alim. ed Amb., Piacenza, Italy3Univ degli Studi di Milano, Dip di Sc. Agr e Ambientali, Produzione, Territorio, Agroenergie, 20133 Milano, ItalyVIII International Postharvest Symposium, Cartagena, Spain, 21-24 June 2016 Image:?Saludeficaz.com