Quality Characteristics of Low-Dose Electron Beam Irradiated-Imported Navel Orange during Storage at Low Temperature (3°C)

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of low-dose electron beam irradiation treatment on physicochemical and sensorial properties of imported navel oranges during storage at 3°C for 45 days. The samples were irradiated at doses of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 kGy, and changes in their color values, hardness, Brix/acid ratio, total sugar contents, reducing sugar contents, vitamin C contents, and sensory evaluation were investigated. There were no significant differences between non-irradiated and irradiated samples in terms of color values, Brix/acid ratio, total sugar contents, total reducing sugar contents, and vitamin C contents. Hardness of irradiated sample at 1 kGy decreased significantly in the early storage period, but the difference between non-irradiated and irradiated samples decreased again at the end of storage. For the sensory evaluation, scores of color, sweetness, flavor, and overall acceptability decreased as irradiation dose and storage period increased. Samples irradiated at over 0.8 kGy showed low preference in all scores except color. These results suggest that electron beam irradiation below 0.6 kGy does not affect physicochemical and sensory properties; thus, electron beam irradiation up to 0.6 kGy in imported navel oranges is optimum for minimizing quality changes and disinfestation treatment simultaneously.