Cut artichokes can be stored in absence of any stabilizing treatment for 9 days with optimized MAP

Poscosecha, postcosecha, postharvest, artichoke, alcachofa, IV gama, m?nimamente procesado, minimally processed Fresh - cut artichokes suffer several degradative reactions, mainly related with enzymatic and non - enzymatic browning. In this work an active MAP was designed to maintain at the steady state a gas concentration of 5% O2 + 10% CO2, or at least within the safety range (O2 >3% and CO2 <15%), as defined in previous experiments. ?Catanese? artichoke quarters were active - MA packaged in 4 different materials with 5% O2 + 10% CO2, calculating for each condition the optimal ratio between the package dimension and product weight, based on Gas Trasmission Rate (GTR), as resulted from data of a previous experiment. Samples in air at 4?C in macro - perforated bags were used as control (CTRL), and compared to: - samples packaged in polylactic acid (PLA), - polylactid acid with one line of micro - perforation (PLA MF1), - polypropilene with two lines of micro - perforations (PP MF2), and - polypropylene + polyamide with two lines of micro - perforations (PP+PA MF2). For the PLA package dimensions could not be optimized since, based on GTR, too - large and not feasible bag dimensions would have been needed. Initially and after 2, 4, and 9 days, O2 and CO2 concentrations within the packaging, together with artichoke color, overall appearance, and weight loss were monitored. At the last sampling date, also ethanol and acetaldehyde accumulation in tissues was measured. All the micro-perforated films maintained gas levels within the ?safety range?, with a positive effect on quality: all samples remained above the limit of marketability until the end of the experiment, without significant differences among them but showing a slight better overall appearance and, in accordance, a better retention of color parameters if compared with CTRL samples. Artichoke quarters packaged in PLA MF1 suffered a higher weight loss that did not seem to influence their overall appearance. On the other hand, as expected, a complete anaerobic condition (16% O2 and 0% O2) rapidly developed in PLA bags. In this condition, blackening of cut bracts and receptacle was observed, while black spots appeared on outer bracts, causing a drastic quality reduction that led samples below the limit of marketability just after a few days. A clear accumulation of ethanol and acetaldehyde was found in these samples. Results showed that optimizing MAP allowed to create and maintain the desired gas condition, with positive effects on quality of the produce, which allowed to store cut artichokes in absence of any stabilizing treatment for 9 days. Original title, complete list of authors and source:DESIGNING A MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING (MAP) FOR FRESH - CUT ARTICHOKESla Zazzera, M.(*), Amodio, M.L. and Colelli, G.g.colelli@unifg.itDip.to di Scienze Agrarie, degli Alimenti e dell?Ambiente - Universit? di Foggia, Via Napoli 25, 71122 Foggia, ItalyCA MA 2013, XI International Controlled & Modified Atmosphere Research ConferenceTrani (Italy), 3-7 June 2013 ?