Effect of Heat Treatment on Reduction of Chilling Injury of Tomato

Abstract

Effect of temperatures on chilling injury of tomato during storage at 0, 3, 6 and 10 °C were studied. The results showed that the tomato fruits stored at 0 °C for 14 days had the most serious chilling injury symptoms. These symptoms included surface pitting and water soaking. The electrolyte leakage of these tomato fruit was 75.93%, the weight loss was 0.40% and the soluble solids content were increased from 3.66 to 5.40%, but these changes had no effect on the level of vitamin C content.

              Tomato fruits were dipped in water at 38, 42 and 45 °C for 5, 10 and 20 minutes and were stored at 0 °C for 12 days. It was found that dipping in water at 42 °C for 10 minutes could reduce the chilling injury of the fruits The electrolyte leakage and the loss of vitamin C were also reduced. The weight loss was 0.34% and there were no effect on titratable acidity and soluble solids content.

A comparison between tomato fruits that were not dipped in hot water and the fruits that were dipped in water at 42 °C for 10 minutes before minimally processed as fresh-cut tomatoes were done. After these processes, the fresh-cut fruits were stored at 10 °C for 10 days. The results showed that the treated fresh-cut tomatoes could reduce the chilling injury symptoms. The electrolyte leakage were 55.54 and 41.10%, the titratable acidity were 0.38 and 0.34% as citric acid and the vitamin C content were 8.84 and 9.84 mg/100g for the undipped and dipped fruits, respectively but there were no effect on the skin color change, the content of soluble solids and the weight loss.