Effect of Some Sanitizing Treatments on Strawberry Fruit Quality during Cold Storage

Abstract

The present research was conducted to evaluate the effect of dipping treatments with 2% citric acid, 0.2% benzoic acid, 0.2% sorbic acid and acidic electrolyzed water on the quality of strawberries ("Malvina" cultivar) during 21 days storage at 8 °C. The following analyses were performed on the control and sanitized strawberry fruits at 1, 7, 14 and 21 days of storage: weight loss, firmness, decay incidence, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, total phenolics content, total anthocyanins content and DPPH antioxidant activity. All sanitizing treatments significantly (P<0.05) reduced weight loss and fruit decay during strawberry storage. Dipping strawberries in 0.2% sorbic acid or 0.2% benzoic acid aqueous solutions were the most effective treatments for maintaining firmness and phytochemical content and for delaying the decay of strawberries during cold storage.