Shelf Life Extension of Minimally Processed Lettuce Leaves (Lectuca sativa)
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Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka
Abstract
Cold storage is one of the best methods to maintain the qualitative and quantitative
properties of Minimally Processed lettuce (Lectuca sativa). The study was conducted to
optimize the shelf life of minimally processed lettuce which were stored in three different
packing materials. Lettuce which was obtained from same cultivation with similar
maturity level was stored in Biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) Antifog 35 micron,
Polypropylene (PP) Micro Perforated and Biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP)
Antifog Breathable 40 micron at 12ᵒC were evaluated separately for Physiological Loss in
Weight, pH, Total Soluble Solids, Total Chlorophyll Content, Ascorbic Acid Content,
Total Phenolic Content, Total Anthocyanin Content, Visual Quality Assessment, Total
Plate Count and sensory evaluation at the one-day interval. The minimally processed
lettuce stored in BOPP Antifog Breathable 40 micron, BOPP Antifog 35 micron, and PP
Micro Perforated had shelflife of ten days, eight days, and three days respectively.
Lettuce from both BOPP Antifog Breathable 40 micron, and BOPP Antifog 35 micron
packs reported a significantly lower physiological loss in weight throughout the storage
period. In the tenth day of storage, the lowest total soluble solid (3.7±0.09) was with the
BOPP Antifog Breathable 40 micron pack. The highest pH value (6.61±0.03) and total
chlorophyll content (2.22±0.04) were recorded in the BOPP Antifog Breathable 40
micron pack on the last day of storage. PP Micro Perforated pack, BOPP Antifog 35-
micron pack, and BOPP Antifog Breathable 40-micron pack failed the visual quality
assessment on the third day, the seventh day, and the tenth day of storage respectively.
The results indicate that BOPP Antifog Breathable 40 micron film is the most suitable
packaging material for minimally processed lettuce.
Keywords: Lettuce, Minimally processing, Cold storage, Packaging materials
Description
Keywords
Food Science, Food Science & Technology, Food Technology