The color, flavor, texture, and the nutritional value of fresh-cut fruit and vegetable products are factors critical to consumer acceptance and the success of these products. In this chapter, desirable and undesirable quality attributes of fresh-cut fruit and vegetable products are reviewed. Both instrumental and sensory measurements for determining these critical quality attributes are discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of sensory and instrumental quality measurements are described. A review of typical unit operations involved in the production of fresh-cut products is presented. The effects of fresh-cut processing techniques and treatments on sensory quality, including the appearance, texture, flavor (taste and aroma) of vegetables, and fruits are detailed.

Recent outbreaks linked toSalmonella-contaminated produce heightened the need to develop simple, rapid, and accurate detection methods, particularly those capable of determining cell viability. In this study, we examined a novel strategy for the rapid detection and quantification of viable salmonellae in produce by coupling a simple propidium monoazide sample treatment with loop-mediated isothermal amplification (PMA-LAMP). We first designed and optimized a LAMP assay targetingSalmonella. Second, the performance of PMA-LAMP for detecting and quantifying viable salmonellae was determined. Finally, the assay was evaluated in experimentally contaminated produce items (cantaloupe, spinach, and tomato). Under the optimized condition, PMA-LAMP consistently gave negative results for heat-killedSalmonellacells with concentrations up to 10⁸CFU/ml (or CFU/g in produce). The detection limits of PMA-LAMP were 3.4 to 34 viableSalmonellacells in pure culture and 6.1 × 10³to 6.1 × 10⁴CFU/g in spiked produce samples. In comparison, PMA-PCR was up to 100-fold less sensitive. The correlation between LAMP time threshold (T_T) values and viableSalmonellacell numbers was high (R²= 0.949 to 0.993), with a quantification range (10²to 10⁵CFU/reaction in pure culture and 10⁴to 10⁷CFU/g in produce) comparable to that of PMA in combination with quantitative real-time PCR (PMA-qPCR). The complete PMA-LAMP assay took about 3 h to complete when testing produce samples. In conclusion, this rapid, accurate, and simple method to detect and quantify viableSalmonellacells in produce may present a useful tool for the produce industry to better control potential microbial hazards in produce.

A likely reason why consumers are not repeat buyers of many fresh-cut fruit is inconsistent or unsatisfactory flavor and/or textural quality. Research toward understanding mechanisms responsible for generation, and/or loss of flavor compounds in fresh-cut fruit is limited. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were utilized to study flavor volatile profiles in anthesis-tagged cantaloupe ( Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus Naud. cv. Sol Real) during growth, development, and for fresh-cuts prepared from fruit with five distinctly different harvest maturities. One-quarter-slip fruit had a clearly green, well-attached peduncle; 1/2-slip fruit had a distinct abscission detectable at the peduncle, 3/4-slip fruit were approaching commercial harvest, full-slip (FS) fruit are or will cleanly separate from the vine with light pressure; and over-ripeness (OR) was precisely categorized as 2 days past FS. Recovery of total volatiles displayed a linear response and most volatile classes (except aldehydes) generally followed a trend upon processing where FS > 3/4-slip > 1/2-slip > 1/4-slip. On day 0, only 70.0%, 37.7%, and 20.5% total volatiles were recovered in 3/4-slip, 1/2-slip, and 1/4-slip fruit, compared to FS fruit. During fresh-cut storage, percent total esters followed an increasing linear trend that was maturity-dependent. Percent total aromatics and percent aldehydes followed a linear trend that was maturity-dependent whereby 1/4-slip > 1/2-slip > 3/4-slip > FS. During storage, the relative percentage of acetates decreased, and displayed a maturity-dependent curvilinear trend. The magnitude of the slope decreased with maturity, indicating that the effect of storage time decreased as maturity increased. In FS, 3/4-slip, 1/2-slip, and 1/4-slip cubes, acetates comprised 66.9% of all compounds recovered on day 0 yet, only 26.1% to 44.2%, and 21.3% to 32.6% remained on days 9 and 14, respectively. For all maturities, a curvilinear increase in relative percentage of nonacetate esters was observed during storage. There was a uniform change in the ester balance (nonacetate ester:acetate ratio) during fresh-cut storage, which was independent of initial processing maturity. The overall ester ratio changed roughly 2-fold after just 2 days in optimum storage, and after 5 days it increased more than 3-fold. The shift in endogenous ester compounds could be partially responsible for the apparent loss of characteristic flavor in fresh-cut cantaloupe through long-term storage.