An irradiation treatment allowed maintaining more efficiently the nutritional profile of mushrooms and vegetables during storage

Irradiation is a post-harvest treatment used to process products for the food and pharmaceutical industries. This technology is often combined with other preservation factors, such as drying and packaging, to take?advantage of possible synergistic effects. In fact, the high perishability of some foods and raw materials makes?imperative to apply preservation treatments capable of extending shelf-life but with minimal impact on quality?attributes. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of irradiation for preserving nutritional parameters of?mushrooms, vegetables and aromatic plants during shelf-life. The mushroom and aromatic plants were?electron beam irradiated at a maximum dose of 10 kGy and analyzed after irradiation and after 6 and 12?months or 12 and 18 months, respectively. The fresh vegetables were irradiated in a 60Co experimental?chamber at a maximum dose of 6 kGy. These were analyzed before irradiating and after 7 or 14 days of storage?at 4 ?C. The irradiation treatment allowed maintaining more efficiently the nutritional profile of the mushroom?and vegetables during storage, as compared to non-irradiated samples. In addition, the storage time had a?greater impact on the nutritional profile of the mushroom than irradiation (with the exception of fatty acids). In?the case of aromatic plants, although the irradiation attenuated quality losses during storage, it was not?possible to identify a general trend since the tested factors had dissimilar effects in the different species. SourcesA irradia??o como tecnologia p?s-colheita vi?vel para conserva??o de cogumelos, vegetais e plantas arom?ticasIrradiation as a feasible post-harvest technology for preservation of mushrooms, vegetables and aromatic plantsJos? Pinela1,2, Filipa Reis1, Eliana Pereira1,2, ?ngela Fernandes1,2, M. Beatriz P.P. Oliveira2,?Amilcar L. Antonio1, Sandra Cabo Verde3, Isabel C.F.R. Ferreira11 Centro de Investiga??o de Montanha (CIMO), ESA, Instituto Polit?cnico de Bragan?a, Campus de Santa?Apol?nia, 5300-253 Bragan?a, Portugal2 REQUIMTE/LAQV, Faculdade de Farm?cia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, n? 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal3 Centro de Ci?ncias e Tecnologias Nucleares (C2TN), IST, Universidade de Lisboa, E.N. 10, 2695-066 Bobadela,?PortugalIX Congresso Ib?rico de Agroengenharia ? IX congresso ib?rico de Agroingenier?a, Bragan?a, Portugal, from 4 to 6 of September 2017 Picture from www.foodsng.com, Is It Safe To Consume Irradiated Foods? Answers!,?from drfeelgood.co.nz