Author:
WAN MOHD NOOR WAN NUR HIDAYAH,WAN SEMBOK WAN ZALIHA,WAN ABDULLAH WAN ZAWIAH
Abstract
Strawberry (Fragaria Ananassa sp.) is non-climacteric, aggregate fruit with a rich source of anthocyanin and vitamin C. However, strawberry has short storage life and is very susceptible to decay and physiological deterioration process. Therefore, emitting the post-harvest LED light to strawberries during cold storage has been studied. This work aimed to evaluate different LED light treatment effects to retain post-harvest quality and microbial quality of the strawberry. The post-harvest parameters that have been used are weight loss, colour, firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and pH. The microbial parameter such as Escherichia coli count, Salmonella count, total plate count, and mold count would also has been assessed. Strawberries were irradiated under three different LED light types (white, blue and red). Blue and red LED lights have different wavelengths, which are 470 nm and 630 nm. The strawberry fruits were stored at 5ºC in a cold room and study parameter were assessed in 10 days. There were statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between the treatment of weight loss, firmness, pH, and total soluble solid. The best treatment for this experiment is blue LED light which showed the lowest weight loss, retained the colour and delayed firmness loss of the strawberry. This study also proved that blue LED light could reduce the growth of E.coli. In conclusion, LED light produces minimal heat, which improves food safety and preserves post-harvest quality of strawberry.
Publisher
Penerbit UMT, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Reference18 articles.
1. Abdelgader, M. O., & Ismail, I. A. (2011). Application of gum Arabic for coating dried mango slices. Pakistan Journal Nutrition, 10(5): 457-462.
2. Asghari Marjanlo, A., Mostofi Y., Shoeibi S.H., & Fattahi A. (2009). Effect of cumin essential oil on postharvest decay and some quality factors of strawberry. Journal of Medical Plant, 8: 25-43.
3. Caleb, O. J., Wegner, G., Rolleczek, C., Herppich, W. B., Geyer, M., & Mahajan, P. V. (2016). Hot water dipping: Impact on postharvest quality, individual sugars, and bioactive compounds during storage of ‘Sonata’strawberry. Scientia Horticulturae, 210, 150-157.
4. Caner, C., & Aday, M. S. (2009). Maintaining quality of fresh strawberries through various modified atmosphere packaging. Packaging Technology and Science, 22(2), 115-122.
5. Caner, C., & Demir, M. (2008). Extending quality of fresh strawberries by equilibrium modified atmosphere packaging. European Food Research & Technology, 227, 1575- 1583.