Strategies for Fresh-Cut Apple Preservation: Recent Advances and Future Prospects

Abstract

Fresh-cut apples are highly popular due to their convenience and nutritional value, but their quality deteriorates rapidly due to enzymatic browning, microbial contamination, and texture degradation, and traditional preservation methods have limitations in effectively maintaining freshness and extending shelf life; although recent advances in physical, chemical, and biological preservation strategies, as well as the integration of omics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, offer promising alternatives, a comprehensive review that systematically evaluates these emerging techniques, their mechanisms, and their practical applications is still lacking. This review critically analyzes recent developments in innovative preservation strategies for fresh-cut apples, focusing on advanced physical, chemical, and biological methods, explores the role of omics technologies in understanding preservation mechanisms, highlights AI applications in quality assessment, and discusses the advantages, challenges, and future prospects of these approaches, providing a comparative perspective on their effectiveness over traditional techniques. Key findings show that innovative preservation methods have demonstrated superior efficacy in reducing browning, controlling microbial growth, and maintaining sensory and nutritional properties compared to conventional approaches, the integration of hurdle technologies offers a synergistic effect in enhancing quality retention, and AI and intelligent packaging systems provide real-time quality monitoring to optimize storage conditions; however, challenges such as cost, regulatory approval, and consumer acceptance remain, so future research should focus on optimizing scalable, eco-friendly solutions and enhancing consumer awareness to facilitate market adoption, and this review serves as a comprehensive reference for developing next-generation preservation strategies for fresh-cut apples.