Shelf Life of Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables
The shelf life (i.e., the length of time that corresponds to a tolerable loss in quality of a processed food and other perishable items) of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables ranges from 1 to 35 days depending on types of shelf life (such as marketing shelf life, food safety shelf life, sensory shelf life, or microbiological shelf life), food safety concerns, marketing strategies of fresh-cut processors, produce commodities, raw materials, refrigerated storage temperatures, preparation methods, and packag- ing methods. Marketing shelf life of fresh-cut products, indicated by sell-by-date, best if use-by-date, use-by-date, or best use-by-day, is not necessarily the same as sensory shelf life or microbiological shelf life, depending on marketing concerns and competition. The average shelf lives of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables are typi- cally 10–14 days (Cantwell & Suslow, 2002). However, the shelf life for kitchen- ore-prepared fresh-cut fruits for the catering industry and restaurants is only 1–2 days (Ahvennainen, 1996). FDA (2000) has suggested a 7-day shelf life at 5◦C for fresh-cut melons prepared at home for microbiological safety reasons. Sensory shelf life and microbiological shelf life are usually the same; however, they can differ sig- nificantly. For example, white surface formation on “baby” carrots can occur weeks before microbial spoilage is observed even though the peeled carrots are packaged in polyethylene pouches and stored at 2◦C (Bolin & Huxsoll, 1991). Poubol and Izumi (2005) reported that fresh-cut mango made from cultivar “Nam Dorkmai” (50–60% yellow) had a shelf life as short as 2 days at 5◦C due to browning discol- oration and a water-soaked appearance. However, fresh-cut celery of 10-cm sticks or 1.9-cm crescents retained its fresh appearance and flavor up to 28 days when stored at 2◦C (Robbs, Bartz, McFie, & Hodge, 1996a). O’Hare (1994) reported that cut pineapple had a shelf life of more than 5 weeks at 1◦C. Fresh-cut melons (such as cantaloupe and watermelon) prepared by retail stores (store-cut) and displayed on retail shelves typically have a 2-day shelf life. The shelf life of cut cantaloupe that is prepared by fresh-cut processors could be as short as 5 days at 7◦C. Can- taloupe washed with hydrogen peroxide, cut and packed at research laboratories could last for more than 18 days at 4◦C (Sapers, Miller, Pilizota, et al., 2001). Ster- ile diced cantaloupe stored in controlled atmospheres at 4.5◦C had a shelf life of up to 28 days (O’Connor-Shaw, Roberts, Ford, & Nottingham, 1996). Powrie, Wu, and Skura (1988) reported a shelf life of 12 weeks at 1◦C for sliced melon, using modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and gas-impermeable containers