Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Postharvest respiration pattern of piqu?n chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L. var. glabriusculum) and the effect of sanitation, edible coatings, and vacuum packaging as conservation strategies

2^nd International Conference and Exhibition on Food Technology, Bioprocess & Cell Culture

October 28-30, 2013 Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza, USA

Fernando G. Viacava-Romo

Posters: J Food Process Technol

Abstract:

The fruits of the Capsicum genus have remarkable importance in the food industry because of the properties that their carotenoids and capsaicinoids provide to color and pungency. Piquin chili pepper (CP) (Capsicum annuum L. var. glabriusculum) is a semi-domesticated perennial plant that produces small rounded fruits, which are highly appreciated in the northeastern part of Mexico. Post-harvest evaluations of Capsicum fruits have been focused on other types of peppers. The objective of this research was to identify the respiratory and transpiration patterns of the piquin pepper. The effects of sanitation treatments, edible coatings, and vacuum packaging were evaluated as post-harvest strategies on piquin pepper. Respiration and transpiration patterns were determined coupling a respiration chamber with 15 g of CP to the infrared gas analyzer. Sanitation treatments included evaluating peracetic acid and Suntexx. The effects of edible coating on CP fruits were analyzed by applying four different coating solutions: acid soluble chitosan (ASC), soy protein (SP), sodium alginate (SA) (2% w/v), and Semperfresh ? (SMP) (1% w/v). For the vacuum packaging probes, polyamide-polyolefin presealed food bags were used for 99 and 2 second vacuum pressure (+99% and 0% vacuum percentage, respectively). Room and refrigerated conditions were evaluated for both analyses. The results seem to suggest that CP is a non-climacteric fruit, with a constant decrease of its respiration rate. A viable sanitation technique was developed. Finally, all the coatings and vacuum packaging have yielded mixed results as to their effectiveness in improving postharvest characteristics of piquin pepper.

Biography :

Fernando G. Viacava-Romo is a Biochemical Food Engineer from the Instituto Tecnol?gico de Morelia. During his formation, Viacava-Romo had professional residences at different research centers, like Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas (CIEco, UNAM) and Centro Multidisciplinario de Estudios en Biotecnolog?a (CMEB, UMSNH). Currently, he is pursuing his Master of Science in Biotechnology as a part of Environmental and Agricultural Biotechnology Research grant, Tecnol?gico de Monterrey. He is expected to obtain his master?s degree at the end of this year.