Radiation Physics and Chemistry 63 (2002) 379–382

The effect of irradiation in the quality of

the avocado frozen pulp
!
Ma.Angeles Valdiviaa,*, Ma.Emilia Bustosb, Javier Ruiza, Luisa F. Ruiza
a
Depto Alimentos y Biotecnolog!ıa, Facultad de Qu!ımica, edf. E, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de M!exico, C.U. Circuito Exterior,
04510 Coyoacan,! Mexico
b
! M!exico 11800, DF, Mexico
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Apdo. Postal 181027, Col. Escandon,

Abstract

The quality of frozen avocado pulp irradiated with 60Co gamma rays at doses of: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.5 kGy, was
studied. These are possible doses for reducing the content of bacteria Listeria monocytogenes by 1–4 log cycles. The
study principally consisted of weekly evaluations of damages caused in lipids and chlorophyll pigment over a period of
one year. No significant differences were found in either hydrolysis rancidity or in the oxidative rancidity for any of the
doses. The concentrations of fatty acids and peroxides were below those established by Codex Alimentarius. This means
that the quality of the oil in the frozen avocado pulp remains acceptable. The kinetic model for the oxidative rancidity is
of first order and the shelf life of the product is of about 120 weeks. The concentrations of the fatty acids and of
malondialdehyde were not high enough to produce off-flavors. It was also determined that the radiation doses did not
influence the chemistry of the chlorophyll. The results were confirmed by the panelists, who accepted irradiated frozen
pulp at the highest radiation dose. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Avocado; Irradiation; Oxidation

1. Introduction sanitarily safe product. Nevertheless, this may cause

Mexico is one of the principal producers of fresh
avocado fruit in the world. It has been reported that
more than 700,000 tons were produced in the past year.
The highest percentage of this fruit is consumed fresh.
The remainder is processed as frozen pulp. There are
currently large export markets for frozen avocado pulp
(ASERCA, 1999). However, in certain circumstances,
frozen pulp is found contaminated in the production line
by bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes. Large
amounts of contaminated pulp may be rejected by
sanitary authorities (FDA, 1998). The situation has the
potential to create serious health problems and may also
represent a significant economic loss for exporters who
may lose their license to export the product. Irradiation
treatment has been proposed as a method to ensure a
*Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +52-562-253-12.
E-mail address: mavald@servidor.unam.mx (M.Á. Valdi-
via).
oxidation in lipids (Nawar, 1978) which is one of the
main changes in products such as avocado pulp. It can
be the result of two independent mechanisms. The first
one, known as the hydrolysis rancidity, is the action of
the lipase enzyme that produces lipolysis reactions, a
process, which is measured by the concentration of fatty
acids. The second mechanism is the production of
peroxides, and other secondary products through an
oxygen attack on the unsaturated fatty acids, namely
oxidative rancidity (Kamel, 1972).
2. Methods
Frozen avocado pulp vacuum packed with PVC was
irradiated at four different doses: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and
2.5 kGy with 60Co gamma rays at a dose rate of
14.70 Gy/min. The quality of the irradiated frozen pulp
was evaluated by changes in lipids and chlorophyll
pigment during every week over the period of 1 year.

0969-806X/02/$ - see front matter r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 6 9 - 8 0 6 X ( 0 1 ) 0 0 6 2 8 - 4
380 M.Á. Valdivia et al. / Radiation Physics and Chemistry 63 (2002) 379–382

1.1
1 Control

Oleic acid (g)/100g sample

0.9 0.5 KGy
0.8 1.0 KGy
0.7 1.5 KGy
0.6 2.0 KGy
0.5 Especification
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

Time (weeks)

Fig. 1. Evolution of the hydrolisis rancidity.

10.5
10.0
9.5 Control
9.0
8.5 0.5 KGy
Peroxides (mEq) / kg oil

8.0 1.0 KGy

7.5
7.0 1.5 KGy
6.5 2.0 KGy
6.0
Especification
5.5
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

Time (weeks)

Fig. 2. Evolution of the oxidative rancidity.

Sensorial and microbiological analyses were done at the concentration remained constant until week 26 (see
beginning and at the end of the research. Acidity and Fig. 1). From this point onwards, an increase of up
peroxide concentrations were measured to determine the to 0.67 g of oleic acid/100 g was observed. In the second
evolution of hydrolysis and oxidative rancidities, respec- case, the peroxide index remained constant until week
tively. Both are determined using volumetric methods 20 after which the concentration of the peroxide index
with the oil extraction technique (Bligh and Dyer, 1959). increased steadily up to 5.5 mEq peroxide/kg in week
The development of secondary oxidation products was 56 (see Fig. 2). In both cases, the maximum
also measured. Malondialdehyde concentration (MDA) values reached were below the specifications of
and the total amount of chlorophyll pigment were Codex Alimentairus, which establishes that an oil is
determined by the extraction method with acetone not within specifications when the acidity value is above
(AOAC, 1984). The results were analyzed using a 1.0% and the peroxide index is above 10 mEq/
program for statistical analysis. kg. Therefore, the quality of oil in the avocado frozen
pulp is acceptable. The concentration of peroxide
was determined to be a function of time. This react-
3. Results ion has a kinetic model of the first order.
The mathematical model used to explain the behav-
The evolution of the hydrolysis was very similar ior of this reaction makes it possible to calculate that
to that of the peroxide rancidity. In the first case, acidity the shelf life for this product is 120 weeks before
 M.Á. Valdivia et al. / Radiation Physics and Chemistry 63 (2002) 379–382 381

Fig. 3. Evaluation of the secondary oxidation products.

0.024

0.022
total chlorophyll (mg) g sample

0.020

0.018
Control
0.016 0.5 KGy
1.0 KGy
0.014 1.5 KGy
2.0 KGy
0.012

0.010
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
Time (weeks)

Fig. 4. Evaluation of total clorophyll.

it reaches 10 mEq peroxide/kg of pulp (see the equation): These results were confirmed by the sensorial analysis, as
the panelists did not detect off-flavors or changes in
ln C ¼ ln C0  ktf color in the different treatments compared to a fresh
sample. Nevertheless, the panelists detected ‘‘a lack of
C0Finitial concentration (mEq peroxide/kg oil),
flavor’’ at the highest radiation dose.
CFfinal concentration (10 mEq peroxide/kg oil),
kFslope, and tf Ftime to reach 10 mEq peroxide/kg
oil (weeks).
The determination of the secondary oxidative pro- 4. Conclusion
ducts was obtained through the concentration of MDA.
These secondary products are very important because The quality of frozen avocado pulp, evaluated by
the aldehydes or ketones are responsible for the off- changes in lipids and chlorophyll pigment, was not
flavor. Results demonstrated that even at the maximum affected by radiation doses used to decontaminate this
radiation dose, the concentration of MDA was not product for bacteria. Statistical analysis showed that
sufficient to produce off-flavor (see Fig. 3). The different irradiation has no influence on the change in acidity, and
radiation doses were not found to influence the no influence in the development of peroxides and MDA.
degradation of the chlorophyll pigment (see Fig 4). The result was confirmed by the acceptance of the
382 M.Á. Valdivia et al. / Radiation Physics and Chemistry 63 (2002) 379–382
treated product by panelists, who did not detect the off-
flavor or lack of color. The results show that this
irradiation treatment can be used with certainty,
knowing that the pulp retains good quality and that
the shelf life of the product may be for over 2 years.
References
ASERCA, 1999. El aguacate Mexicano. Claridades Agrope-
cuarias 65, 3–19.
AOAC, 1984. Official methods of analysis.
Bligh, E.G, Dyer, W.J., 1959. Can. J. Biochem. Physiol. 37,
911.
FDA, 1998. Import Altet. Detection without physical examina-
tion of frozen and refrigerated guacamole and avocado
Mexico.
Kamel, B., 1972. Fatty Acids in fruits and fruit products. In:
Ching Kuang (Eds.), Fatty Acids in Foods and their Health
Implications. Marcel Dekker, Inc., USA, pp. 264–266
(Chapter 10).
Nawar, W., 1978. Reaction mechanism in the radiolysis of fats.
A review. J. Agric. Food. Chem. 26, 1.