Optimization of the Appearance Quality in CO2 Processed Ready-to-Eat Carrots through Image Analysis

Abstract

A high-pressure CO2 process applied to ready-to-eat food products guarantees an increase of both their microbial safety and shelf-life. However, the treatment often produces unwanted changes in the visual appearance of products depending on the adopted process conditions. Accordingly, the alteration of the visual appearance influences consumers’ perception and acceptability. This study aims at identifying the optimal treatment conditions in terms of visual appearance by using an artificial vision system. The developed methodology was applied to fresh-cut carrots (Daucus carota) as the test product. The results showed that carrots packaged in 100% CO2 and subsequently treated at 6 MPa and 40 °C for 15 min maintained an appearance similar to the fresh product for up to 7 days of storage at 4 °C. Mild appearance changes were identified at 7 and 14 days of storage in the processed products. Microbiological analysis performed on the optimal treatment condition showed the microbiological stability of the samples up to 14 days of storage at 4 °C. The artificial vision system, successfully applied to the CO2 pasteurization process, can easily be applied to any food process involving changes in the appearance of any food product.

Increasing the Safety and Storage of Pre-Packed Fresh-Cut Fruits and Vegetables by Supercritical CO2 Process

“…These findings indicate that the process induced a visual change of the original color of the fresh products. For this reason, it has become more and more important to develop and improve methodologies to optimize the process minimizing the change of color, as previously reported by Barberi et al [33]. A sensorial analysis should also be performed to confirm the perception of the consumers caused by the treatment.…”

Investigating the Effect of Rosemary Essential Oil, Supercritical CO2 Processing and Their Synergism on the Quality and Microbial Inactivation of Chicken Breast Meat

“…This result suggests a strong dependence on the treatment with the food matrix. Indeed, in the case of other food matrices such as carrot and coriander [17,18], the inactivation of inoculated E. coli on the sample surface was also found to be higher after the treatment with the SC-CO 2 method compared to the SC-MAPCO 2 method. However, the inactivation with SC-MAPCO 2 was significant, suggesting a better inactivation capacity of the treatment for vegetables than meat.…”

“…After the desired pressure was reached, it was maintained for a specific holding time. The second process (SC-MAPCO 2 ), previously described by Barberi et al [17], is instead performed on samples inserted in a high-gas barrier, multilayer (PA/EVOH/PA/PE) film (Euralpack, Schoten, Belgium) filled with CO 2 and pressurized in a water-driven plant. The packaging material was selected thanks to its low CO 2 permeability (<6.5 cm 3 /m 2 /d/bar) and its resistance to high pressure.…”

“…This new method has been demonstrated to be effective at lab scale on fresh-cut carrots and coconut and coriander, obtaining inactivation results very close to the SC-CO 2 method, but with milder effects on the product aspect [17,18]. This new method has never been studied on animal-origin products, but SC-CO 2 has been demonstrated to be effective in the inactivation of microorganisms on meat products.…”