E ffects o f gam m a irradiation on the shelf-life and quality

characteristics o f diced bell peppers

A Research Project

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty o f

Chapman University

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In partial fulfillment o f the
Requirements for a degree o f
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Master o f Science

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Food Science and Nutrition

May 2002

Sunita Masson
Bachelor o f Science, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences
California Polytechnic University, Pomona
June 1997

CHArMAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

ORANGE, CALIFORNIA

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 The Research Project o f Sunita Masson has been approved by:

(L a ,
Dr. A nuradha Prakash
A ssistant Professor and C hair
Food Science and N utrition

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Dr. Fred Caporaso
Professor
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Food Science and N utrition
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Jr. Denise Foley

A ssistant Professor
D epartm ent o f B iological Sciences

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 D edication

I w ould like to dedicate this research thesis to m y parents, R ajinder and V eerinder

M asson, w ho have guided m e and supported m e em otionally throughout this endeavor o f

m ine. A lso, a special thank you to m y friends and fam ily who have encouraged m e from

the sidelines and rem inded m e to never give up.

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 A cknow ledgem ents

I w ould like to thank m y advisor and professor, Dr. A nuradha Prakash, and board

m em bers Dr. Fred Caporaso and Dr. D enise Foley for their com m itm ent and guidance

tow ards the com pletion o f this research project. T heir patience and support will never be

forgotten, for w ithout it this point m ay never have come. I w ould also like to sincerely

thank the com panies that supported this project w ith their services; R eady Pac for

supplying several packages o f the diced bell peppers, Steregenics for the service o f

irradiating the product, and Carl K archer Enterprises for the use o f their sensory lab

facility. W ithout them it w ould not have been possible. Lastly, I w ould like to thank all

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o f the undergraduate assistants that volunteered their effort and countless hours tow ards
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the experim entation part o f this research.
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 T able o f C ontents

Page

T itle p a g e ........................................................................................................................................i
Signature p a g e .............................................................................................................................. ii
D ed ica tio n ......................................................................................................................................iii
A ck n ow led gem en t.......................................................................................................................iv
Table o f C o n te n ts .........................................................................................................................v
L ist o f T a b le s ................................................................................................................................ vi
A b s tra c t...........................................................................................................................................1
Introduction................................................................................................................................... 2
L iterature R e v ie w ........................................................................................................................ 4
M aterials and M e th o d s ............................................................................................................... 12
R e s u lts .............................................................................................................................................16
C onclusion and S u m m a ry ..........................................................................................................29

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R e c o m m e n d a tio n s........................................................................................................................30
R e fe re n c e s ......................................................................................................................................31
A p p e n d ic e s.................................................................................................................................... 34
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 L ist o f T ables

Table 1:
C hange in m ean total aerobic m icroorganism populations (log 10 C FU /g) in irradiated
diced bell peppers stored at 4°C for 17 d a y s ............................................................................... 17

Table 2:
C hange in m ean total aerobic m icroorganism populations (log 10 C FU /g) in irradiated
diced b ell peppers stored at 4°C for 17 d a y s ............................................................................... 17

Table 3:
C hange in m ean yeast and m old populations (log 10 CFU /g) in irradiated diced bell
peppers stored at 4°C for 17 d a y s ................................................................................................. 18

T able 4:
C hange in m ean yeast and m old populations (log 10 CFU /g) in irradiated diced bell
peppers stored at 4°C for 17 d a y s ................................................................................................. 18

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T able 5:
Effects o f irradiation on the firm ness o f diced bell peppers stored at 4°C for 16 days .. .22
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T able 6:
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 A bstract
Freshness and convenience are tw o factors that have fueled the dem and for fresh-

cut fruits and vegetables, how ever the sh e lf life o f these products are lim ited. For

exam ple, -the sh elf life o f diced bell peppers is lim ited to 5 days w hich includes packaging

and distribution. Thus there is an interest in extending the shelf life o f these perishable

foods using technologies that will preserve freshness.

The objective o f this paper is to determ ine the effects on shelf life and quality

characteristics o f diced bell peppers exposed to irradiation.

D iced bell peppers w ere subjected to gam m a irradiation using a cobalt 60 source

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at dosages o f 0.39, 0.5, 0.56, 1.24, 1.82, and 3.70 kGy. The sam ples w ere evaluated over
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a 17 day tim e period for changes in total plate counts, yeast and m old, texture, color, pH,

headspace, and sensory attributes.

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The total plate counts (TPC) and yeast and m old for the diced bell peppers w ere

significantly reduced in the irradiated samples. O n day 10, TPC for the 1.82 and 3.70

kG y sam ples m aintained a log o f 7.56 log cfu/g and 5.60 log cfu/g respectively as
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com pared to 9 log cfu/g for the untreated sample. The yeast and m old counts w ere low er

by 1-2 logs into 10 days. The 1.82 kG y sam ple m aintained acceptable sensory and

quality characteristics that coincided w ithjanalytical experim ent results. Texture w as

initially softer for the irradiated sam ples at day one ranging from 14% decrease in

firm ness for the 0.5 kGy sam ple and 56% for the 3.70 kG y sam ple. Sensory testing

indicated th at the irradiation induced softness w as unacceptable at 3.70 kG y, but w as

acceptable fo r the 1.82 kG y dose. Color and pH w ere not affected by irradiation.

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 In conclusion, irradiation at 1.82 kG y significantly delayed m icrobial grow th

w hile m aintaining quality characteristics. Irradiation proves to be an effective m eans for

extending the shelf life o f diced bell peppers.

IN T R O D U C T IO N

C onsum ers o f fruits and vegetables are putting an increased em phasis on

convenience as well as on freshness in term s o f texture, flavor, and appearance. This

desire for convenience and fresh (or fresh-like) properties has led to a relatively new area

o f food preservation—m inim ally or lightly processed foods. M inim ally processed fruits

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and vegetables are those prepared for'convenient consum ption and distributed to the
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consum er in a fresh-like state (King Jr. and Bolin 1989). The fruits and vegetables are

usually trim m ed, peeled, or cut i f necessary, w ashed (usually in chlorinated w ater), and
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som etim es disinfected. The products are packaged in sealed pouches or in plastic trays

sealed w ith polym eric film s (Nguyen-the and Carlin 1994). Considering that sanitizing
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w ith chem ical m eans such as chlorine treatm ent is not very reliable, there is a need for a

procedure th at can reduce the incidence o f pathogenic m icroorganism s associated w ith

fresh produce, w ithout affecting their m inim ally processed freshness (Farkas and others

1997). The ultim ate goal is to extend product shelf life while assuring product safety.

The m ain problem s w ith m inim ally processed foods are the presence o f cut

surfaces or dam aged plant tissues, m inim al processing that can not ensure sterility or

m icrobial stability o f the product, the active m etabolism o f the plant tissue, and

packaging th at extends sh elf life that m ay allow low levels o f contam inating pathogens to

increase during storage. Due to this, m icroorganism s are likely to proliferate on the

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 product, b u t their behavior m ay b e influenced by plant tissue m etabolism and by the

m odified atm osphere created b y th e com bined effects o f product respiration and

packaging film perm eability (N guyen-the and C arlin 1994).

E v ery step from production through consum ption w ill influence the m icrobiology

o f fresh produce. Im proper handling and unsanitary equipm ent lead to increased

populations o f m icroorganism s on fresh fruits and vegetables and can com prom ise

quality and safety. Processing steps such as cutting and peeling usually increase the

population o f m icroorganism s and shorten sh e lf life (Brackett 1992).

C ontrolling the physiology o f vegetative tissue and m icrobial grow th is critical to

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m inim ally processed fruits and vegetables. T he tissue m ust rem ain alive and m aintain
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quality w ith reasonable storage life. A lso, packaging m ust be developed to help achieve

these goals (K ing Jr. and B olin 1989).

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W ith strict standards relating to food hygiene, gam m a irradiation, or otherw ise

know n as ionizing radiation, is beginning to provide a safe, effective, and econom ical

alternative treatm ent for m any food products. Food irradiation is recognized as an
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effective m ethod o f ensuring hygienic quality o f food, reducing post-harvest food losses,

and facilitating w ider trade for certain food item s. A ccording to Farkas and others

(1997), irradiation offers a physical m eans for pasteurization w ithout changing the fresh

state o f com m odities.

F ruits and vegetables are being irradiated in the U nited States to elim inate insects

and spoilage organism s and to prevent over-ripening and, in the case o f tubers and bulbs,

sprouting (T hayer and Josephson 1996). For the purpose o f this paper, an em phasis w ill

be p u t on the irradiation o f diced bell pepper.

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