Use of photo catalytic oxidation for the post-harvest storage of fruit arid vegetables

Abstract

Post-harvest storage aims to obtain products characterized by high quality (sensory and nutritional], prolonged shelf-life and safety (absence of chemical, physical and microbiological contaminations). Quality deterioration of fruits and vegetables and microbial growth can be counteracted by physical and/or chemical means. The most important post-harvest operations concern the sanitized washing of the product, where possible, the adoption of low temperature and controlled atmospheres, as well as the possible treatment with chemical products (e.g., ozone].. Among the sanitizing systems under experimentation, the photo catalytic oxidation (PCO] is gaining more and more interest and it is used to reduce the number of airborne organic contaminants (i.e., VOCs, bacteria and fungi). The aim of the present experimentation was to evaluate the impact of PCO technology on the shelf life, quality and safety of some fruit and vegetable products, adopting longer than standard refrigerated storage times. The experimentation showed a certain effectiveness of PCO in containing biological airborne contaminants, with particular regard to the microbial load. The effect on the surface microbial load of the product is sometimes evident, but strongly conditioned by the state of cleanliness of the storage cell and of the product itself The positive and/or negative effects on product quality are negligeable and further investigations will be necessary to prove them.