Efeito do tratamento com luz UV-C na vida útil de tomates frescos

Abstract

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is considered one of the main vegetables consumed in Brazil and in the world, its short shelf life is the main limiting factor to sale and display on shelves for long periods. Technologies that can extend the shelf life of tomatoes and other vegetables are being increasingly studied and applied. The use of alternative technologies is gaining more and more space within industrial processes, due to their effect on the microbial inactivation, on the sensory characteristic’s preservation of foods, and because they are considered a clean technology that do not negatively impact the environment. In this sense, irradiation with UV-C light is a technology that has the ability to damage microbial DNA, causing metabolism inactivation, resulting in inhibition of the microorganism’s proliferation, being considered an alternative to conventional technologies. Therefore, the present study analyzed the effects of UV-C light on tomatoes exposed to different conditions of the binomial time x distance of lights. Ideal conditions were established from microbiological results and a storage study was carried out in order to monitor the UVC effects on microbial grow and physical-chemical characteristics of treated and untreated samples. The results indicated smaller microbiological growth in all irradiated samples (p<0,05). Similar results were found on the physical and chemical aspects, allowing shelf life of 12 days at environmental temperature.