Quality and microbial evaluation of fresh-cut apples during 10 days of supercooled storage

Fresh-cut fruit is susceptible to spoilage. In this study, we supercooled film-packaged fresh-cut ?Fuji? apple samples at -5 ?C (SC) for 10 d then assessed their physicochemical and microbiological properties. Fresh-cut apple samples stored at 5 ?C were used as the control. The initial freezing point and supercooling point showed that the fresh-cut apple samples could be stored at -5 ?C in a supercooled state. The results showed that the microbial population was suppressed in SC samples but increased in the control samples. Quality evaluation showed that changes in the color parameters (whiteness index, browning index, and total color difference) and weight loss of SC samples were equivalent to or less than those of the control samples. The firmness, soluble solids content, and pH changed little during supercooled storage. Overall, the quality of the supercooled samples remained high. The results suggested that supercooling is a novel technique for improving the shelf-life of freshcut ?Fuji? apples.

Automated summary

Supercooling fresh-cut ?Fuji? apple samples at -5 ?C for 10 days can suppress microbial growth, reduce spoilage, and maintain high quality. The color parameters and weight loss of supercooled samples are equivalent to or less than those of the control samples. The firmness, soluble solids content, and pH of supercooled samples remain stable during storage.