Physiological Physical Chemical Characteristics and Sensory Evaluation of Minimally Processed Grapefruit Segments Packaged under Modified Atmosphere

The objective of this study was to investigate physiological, physical, chemical, and sensory characteristics of minimally processed and modified-atmosphere-packaged grapefruit segments. Grapefruits were sanitized, peeled, segmented and packed under passive (21%O2 +79% N2) and two active modified atmospheres (20% O2+10% CO2 +70% N2 and 70% O2+20% CO2 +10% N2) in polypropylene trays. Physiological, physical, chemical, and sensory properties were monitored at 4 ºC for 15 days. In general, there was no significant effect of MAP observed in chemical properties (P 0.05). There was no significant effect of MAP treatment on a* and b* values (P 0.05); however, the firmness values increased at all applications (P ≤0.05). Grapefruit segments remained viable for 10 days under enriched oxygen (70%) and less than 10 days under active (20% oxygen) and passive MAP applications considering internal atmosphere and quality parameters. These results suggested that grapefruits could be prepared as ready to eat fruits with considerable shelf life, quality and convenience with using enriched oxygen MAP.