RESUMO
Mango fruits are a rich source of nutrients, however, due to their perishability and seasonality, minimal processing and drying offer the potential ensure a shelf stable and safe product. The use of sodium metabisulphite (SMB) as pre-treatment in the dried fruit industry has been widely adopted, but sulphite residue remains a health public concern. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of alkaline and acidic electrolyzed water (AIEW and AEW, mg/mL) as alternative pre-treatments to SMB (1% w/w) for 'Tommy Atkins' mango slices prior to hot air drying at 60 °C. Fresh-cut and untreated samples were used as a control. During the drying process the weight of the slices were monitored every 60 min for 10 h, which was used to calculate moisture ratio (MR), drying rate (DR), and the experimental data of the samples were subjected to eight thin layer models. Colour parameters (L*, a*, and b*) were measured, and use to determine colour intensity (C*), hue angle (h°), and total colour difference (TCD) before and after drying. Based on measured weight, continuous decline in MR was recorded for all dried mango slices over the drying time irrespective on treatment. Out of the eight applied thin layer models Henderson & Pabis and Logarithmic were the best appropriate models describing and predicting the drying behavior of 'Tommy Atkins' mangoes (R2 = 0.94, RMSE ≥ 0.0006). Samples treated with AEW treated samples had lowest L*, h°, and TCD values (p < 0.05). No significant different were found in h° values amongst all pre-treated and dried samples (p > 0.05), but these samples were significantly different from dried untreated (control) and fresh samples (p < 0.05). Pre-treatments maintained the visual quality of dried 'Tommy Atkins' mango slices; SMB > AIEW > AEW > untreated (control). This study provided science-based evidence for the application of acidic and alkaline electrolyzed water as an alternative pre-treatment to sodium metabisulphite for the drying of 'Tommy Atkins' mango.
RESUMO
Abstract: Nectarine fruit is highly perishable due to its high moisture content (89%) and susceptibility to decay. Continuous degradation in quality attributes due to physiological responses and ripening result ultimately in post-harvest losses. Drying of fruit offers the possibility to minimize losses and add value to fresh produce. Thus, this study evaluated the impacts of sodium metabisulphite (SMB; 10 g/kg) and characterized the influence of hot air (50 °C) drying on the kinetics, fruit tissue microstructure, and the physicochemical properties of dried 'Sunectwentyone' nectarines (Super star®). Out of the nine mathematical models, Logarithmic and Henderson, and Pabis models were the most suitable to predict the drying behaviour of sliced nectarines (R 2 = 0.94). Based on the microstructural analysis, prolonged drying led to higher tissue displacement/disruption in dehydrated nectarine slices. Results showed that SMB treatment was more effective in maintaining both the freshness and the color of 'Sunectwentyone' nectarine than the untreated. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-022-01039-6.