Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
the country to which product will be exported. General
food laws, certificate of conformity, maximum residue lim-
its, and phytosanitary regulations and plant protection are
important. Moreover, certifications such as EUREPGAP,
HACCP, ISO 9001, ISO 9002, and ISO 14001 are impor-
tant requirements for exports.
FRESH-CUT PROCESSING
Fresh-cut fruit and vegetable products have become in-
creasingly popular owing to their convenience to the con-
sumer and the human health benefits associated with eating
these foods. The market for ready-to-eat papaya is very
small but growing (Anon, 2009). Fresh-cut papaya fruit
undergo rapid tissue deterioration during storage showing
translucency, darker flesh, and dehydrated surface (Paull
and Chen, 1997). Figure 16.3 shows a general diagram of
the basic operations performed to obtain fresh-cut papaya.
During processing hurdles technologies such as sanitizing,
addition of antioxidant or texturizing compounds, coatings,
radiation, mild heat treatments, modified atmospheres, re-
frigeration, and so on, are applied to prolong the shelf life
and to assure a microbiologically safe product, while re-
taining its sensorial and nutritional characteristics.
Artificial ripening
Ethylene-treated papayas ripen faster and more uniformly
in terms of skin degreening, softening, and flesh color (An
and Paull, 1990). Since papaya ripens from the inside out-
ward, ethylene treatment is used to accelerate the rate of
ripening of the mesocarp tissue nearer the skin that has
not started to soften. Exposure to 100 ppm ethylene at
20
◦
-25
◦
C and 90-95% relative humidity for 24-48 hours
resulted in faster and more uniform ripening of papayas
picked at color break to 1/4 yellow stage (O'Hare, 1993) In
warmer months, fruit is allowed to ripen naturally. Ideally,
fruit should reach the market with between 1/2 and 2/4 yel-
low in summer and between 3/4 to full color in the winter
months (Papaya Australia, 2007).
Microbiological quality
O'Connor-Shaw et al. (1994) and Hernandez et al.
(2006) observed that the total microbial content, aerobic
mesophiles, and fungi and yeasts were relatively high when
Harvesting
Sorting
Postharvest
treatment
Ripening
Washing
Peeling
Deseeding
Cutting
FROZEN
DEHYDRATED
CANNED
FRESH
FRESH-CUT
PUREÉ
CONCENTRATE
JUICE
Antioxidant
treatment
Antioxidant
treatment
Filling in
cans
Antioxidant
treatment
Retail
boxing
Sanitation
Antioxidant
treatment
Antioxidant
treatment
Textural/
antioxidant
treatments
Hot air/
Freeze-drying/
Osmotic
Syrup
addition
Freezing
processing
Blending/
Extraction
Blending/
Extraction
Blending/
Extraction
Refining
Can closing
Pasteurization
Refining
Package film
MAP
Thermal
processing
Evaporation
Pasteurization
Storage at
−
Storage at
25°C
Storage at
10°C
Storage at
5°C
Storage at
25°C
Storage at
25°C
Storage at
25°C
Storage at
25°C
20°C
Figure 16.3.
Flow diagram for processing different papaya products.
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