Emerging Researches in Postharvest Physiology and Shelf-Life Extension Technologies for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Quality and Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2025 | Viewed by 2342

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy, Foggia, Italy
Interests: fresh fruit and vegetables; minimally processed product; postharvest physiology; storage condition; chemical and physical treatment; modified and controlled atmosphere; active packaging; non-destructive quality evaluation; logistic solutions; nutritional and sensorial evaluation of fruit and vegetables; volatile compounds as quality markers
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Guest Editor
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), c/o CS-DAT, Via Michele Protano, 71121 Foggia, Italy
Interests: posthavest; quality; modified atmosphere; fruits and vegetables; nondestructive quality evaluation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy, Foggia, Italy
Interests: quality of fresh fruit and vegetables; fresh-cut products; postharvest physiology and technology; pre-harvest and postharvest treatments; modified and controlled atmosphere; storage condition; intelligent and active packaging; sustainability of production processes; non-destructive quality assessment; image analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to present emerging and novel technologies for maintaining the postharvest quality of fresh fruits, vegetables, and minimally processed products. Although a great deal of research has previously been published on this topic, the current Special Issue aims to form a new point of view for postharvest stakeholders, with a focus on decreasing the food loss and food waste at this stage through the application of new sustainable methods, processes, and technologies. The Guest Editors of this Special Issue welcome high-quality original research articles as well as comprehensive review papers. They encourage the publication of new findings on innovative processing technologies, coatings, pre-treatments, sustainable and eco-friendly packaging, modified or controlled atmosphere systems, disinfection methods, and the application of GRAS substances. The final goal is to obtain solutions that prolong the freshness, reduce the nutritional value loss, and extend the postharvest life of fruits and vegetables, from farm to fork.

Dr. Bernardo Pace
Dr. Maria Cefola
Guest Editors

Dr. Michela Palumbo
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • active and innovative packaging
  • chemical and physical treatments
  • edible coating
  • innovative processing technologies
  • microbial preservation
  • modified and controlled atmosphere
  • natural food preservatives
  • postharvest loss reduction
  • no-destructive and contactless quality evaluation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 2078 KiB  
Article
Extending More than One Week the Shelf Life of Fresh-Cut Lettuce Using Vinegar Enriched in Bioactive Compounds Encapsulated in α-Cyclodextrins
by María de los Ángeles Martínez-Sánchez, Ginés Benito Martínez-Hernández and Antonio López-Gómez
Foods 2024, 13(19), 3142; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13193142 - 1 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1736
Abstract
Fresh-cut salads are highly appreciated by consumers due to their healthy and convenient nature. Fresh-cut (FC) lettuce is one of the best-selling FC products due to its freshness and low preparation time for salads. However, FC lettuce is very perishable and, in addition, [...] Read more.
Fresh-cut salads are highly appreciated by consumers due to their healthy and convenient nature. Fresh-cut (FC) lettuce is one of the best-selling FC products due to its freshness and low preparation time for salads. However, FC lettuce is very perishable and, in addition, has been recently associated with severe foodborne illness alerts. Alternative natural sanitizing treatments to conventional sodium hypochlorite are needed. The antimicrobial activity of vinegar has been well-known since ancient times. In addition, bioactive compounds from plant byproducts are widely recognized for their antioxidant properties. This work aimed to evaluate the use of a novel and encapsulated vinegar powder enriched with bioactive compounds from fruit byproducts with high antimicrobial and antioxidant properties to preserve the physicochemical (titratable acidity, total soluble solids, weight loss, and color), microbial (psychrophiles, enterobacteria, lactic-acid bacteria, molds, and yeasts), and sensory quality of FC lettuce at 4 °C for up to 10 days. Small to no differences were observed in terms of physicochemical quality (≈0.1% titratable acidity; 2.3–3.3% total soluble solids; <1% weight loss) in comparison to control samples through storage. Vinegar treatments reduced by 2–4 log CFU g−1 the microbial loads after 10 days. In addition, a synergistic sensory antibrowning effect (greener and less yellowish appearance, showing −a* and −b*) between organic acids and the released polyphenols from the encapsulated plant byproduct extracts was observed. Hence, the enriched encapsulated vinegar represents an effective green alternative to conventional sanitizers to maintain the quality of FC lettuce through storage time. Full article
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