Minimal processing

for healthy

traditional foods

Ana Allende, FranciscoA. Tomas-Barberan and Marıa

I. Gil*&

Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of

Plant Foods, Food Science and Technology Depart-

ment, CEBAS-CSIC, P.O. Box 164, Espinardo,

E-30100, Murcia Spain (Tel.: C34 968 396315; fax:

C34 968 396213.; e-mail: migil@cebas.csic.es)

The industry of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables is

constantly growing due to consumers demand. New

techniques for maintaining quality and inhibiting unde-

sired microbial growth are demanded in all the steps of

the production and distribution chain. In this review, we

summarize some of the new processing and preservation

techniques that are available in the fresh-cut industry. The

combination of sanitizers with other intervention methods

is discussed. The use of ultraviolet-C, modified-atmos-

pheres, heat shocks and ozone treatments, alone or in

different combinations have proved useful in controlling

microbial growth and maintaining quality during storage

of fresh-cut produce. In addition, combinations of

physical and chemical treatments are also reviewed. The

use of acidic or alkaline electrolyzed water (AcEW),

chlorine dioxide, power ultrasound and bacteriocins and

the potential applications to the fresh-cut products

industry to control human microbial pathogens are

presented.

IntroductionThere is a general trend to increase fresh fruit and

vegetable consumption mainly due to their health

properties (Huxley, Lean, Crozier, John, & Neil,

2004). Different organizations (WHO, FAO, USDA,

0924-2244/$ - see front matter q 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2006.04.005

* Corresponding author.

EFSA) recommend the increasing fruit and vegetable

consumption to decrease the risk of cardiovascular

diseases and cancer. The fresh-cut fruit and vegetable

industry is constantly growing mainly due to the

consumer’s tendency of health consciousness and their

increasing interest in the role of food for maintaining

and improving human well-being (Gilbert, 2000;

Ragaert, Verbeke, Devlieghere, & Debevere, 2004). In

fact, fruits and vegetables are basic ingredients of the

highly demanded Mediterranean diet, associated with a

beneficial and healthy function against numerous

diseases (Flood et al., 2002; IFIC, 2001). This beneficial

effect has been attributed to non-essential food constitu-

ents, phytonutrients, that posse a relevant bioactivity

when frequently consumed as a part of regular diet

(Steinmetz & Potter, 1996). This also corresponds to

one of the traditional claims in proper dietary habits

which aims for an increasing intake of fruits and

vegetables (Liu et al., 2000). However, it is well-known

that modern ways of life usually trend to a reduction of

suitable intake of rich sources of antioxidant

compounds, such as fruit and vegetables, being more

emphasized in some parts of the population, especially

children. It is known that a food which meets nutritional

requirements is unlikely to be accepted by consumers if

they do not like the flavor or other quality attributes

(Da Costa, Deliza, Rosenthal, Hedderley, & Frewer,

2000). Additionally, it has been shown that consumer’s

needs for convenience are correlated with food choice

(Ragaert et al., 2004; Verlegh & Candel, 1999).

Therefore, the fresh-cut fruit and vegetable industry is

still working to increase the assortment of minimally

processed vegetable products that meets consumer’s

needs for ‘quick’ and convenient products that preserve

their nutritional value, retain a natural and fresh color,

flavor and texture, and contain fewer additives such as

preservatives (Jongen, 2002).

Fresh-cut fruits and vegetables emerged to fulfill new

consumer’s demands of healthy, palatable and easy to

prepare plant foods. ‘Minimal processing’ describes non-

thermal technologies to process food in a manner to

guarantee the food safety and preservation as well as to

maintain as much as possible the fresh-like charac-

teristics of fruits and vegetables (Manvell, 1997).

Among others, visual properties of fresh-cut fruit and

vegetable commodities are one of the most important

Trends in Food Science & Technology 17 (2006) 513–519

Review

A. Allende et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 17 (2006) 513–519514

parameter to evaluate the total quality of the product by

consumers. Looking at the package, it will be possible

to evaluate absence or presence of discoloration

(enzymatic browning of cut surfaces, yellowing of

green vegetables and pale color of bright vegetables),

mechanical damage (foiled lettuce leaves, absence of

cutting damage), as well as decay (Bolin & Huxsoll,

1991; Jacxsens, Devlieghere, Ragaert, Vanneste, &

Debevere, 2003; Varoquaux & Wiley, 1994).

Although between processing and consumption a span

of several days occurs, consumers still want to have fresh

or fresh-like vegetables on their dishes or pans

(Gomez-Lopez, Devlieghere, Bonduelle, & Debevere,

2005). However, it is well-known that processing of

vegetables promotes a faster physiological deterioration,

biochemical changes and microbial degradation of the

product even when only slight processing operations can

be used (O’Beirne & Francis, 2003), which may result in

degradation of the color, texture and flavor (Kabir, 1994;

Varoquaux & Wiley, 1994). Storage temperature is the

single most important factor affecting spoilage of

minimally processed fruit and vegetables. However,

there are many other preservation techniques that are

currently being used by the fresh-cut industry such as

antioxidants, chlorines and modified atmosphere packa-

ging (MAP). Nonetheless, new techniques for maintain-

ing quality and inhibiting undesired microbial growth are

demanded in all the steps of the production and

distribution chain as microorganisms adapt to survive in

the presence of previously effective control methods

(Allende & Artes, 2003a).

The main objective of this review is to summarize the

new alternative processing and preservation techniques

that may improve the quality and shelf-life of these

products as a consequence of the recent implication in

foodborne outbreaks that have been associated with

fresh-cut products.

Preservation techniquesDuring minimal processing (including peeling, cutting

and grating operations), many cells are broken and

intracellular products, such as oxidizing enzymes, are

released (Laurila & Ahvenainen, 2002), accelerating the

decay of the product. Additionally, the cut surfaces of

any processed vegetable support better microbial growth.

In fact, each step in the processing affects quality and

microflora of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables. For these

reasons, the cutting and shredding must be performed

with knives or blades as sharp as possible made from

stainless steel. However, many different solutions have

been tested to avoid the acceleration of decay due to

peeling, cutting or slicing. The newest tendency is

called the immersion therapy (AR-USDA, 2005). Cutting

a fruit while it is submerged in water will control turgor

pressure, due to the formation of a water barrier that

prevents movement of fruit fluids while the product is

being cut. Additionally, the watery environment also

helps to flush potentially damaging enzymes away from

plant tissues. On the other hand, UV-C light has been

also used while cutting fruit to cause a hypersensitive

defense response to take place within its tissues,

reducing browning and injury of in fresh-cut products

(Lamikanra & Bett-Garber, 2005). Another alternative

could be the use of water-jet cutting, a non-contact

cutting method which utilizes a concentrated stream of

high-pressure water to cut through a wide range of

foodstuffs (Ingersoll Rand Ltd).

However, the main steps throughout the processing

chain of minimal processing fruits and vegetables are

washing and disinfection. For this reason, guidelines for

packing fresh or minimally processed fruits and

vegetables generally specify a washing or sanitizing

step to remove dirt, pesticide residues, and microorgan-

isms responsible for quality loss and decay (Sapers,

2003). The current published data suggests that any of

the available washing and sanitizing methods, including

some of the newest sanitizing agents such as chlorine

dioxide, ozone, and peroxyacetic acid, were not capable

of reducing microbial population by more than 90 or

99% (Beuchat, Adler, Clavero, & Nail, 1998; Brackett,

1999; Sapers, 2003). Additionally, different washing and

disinfection treatments may negatively affect the

nutritional and sensory quality of the product (Laurila

& Ahvenainen, 2002). However, little is known about

nutritive value content of minimally processed produce

(Beltran, Selma, Marın, & Gil, 2005; Qiang, Demirkol,

Ercal, & Adams, in press). On the other hand, in the

search for effective disinfectant treatments for wash

water sanitation, the postharvest handling industry often

operates within areas of regulatory uncertainty. For

applications to whole or peeled produce, handlers and

processors may be assuming that these materials have

an approved Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) status.

Therefore, washing and disinfection of the produce

before preparation or consumption is recommended but

does not guarantee that fresh produce is pathogen free

(Gorny & Zagory, 2002).

On the other hand, the potential of MAP to extend

shelf-life for many foods is well documented (Brecht et

al., 2003; Jacxsens, Devlieghere, & Debevere, 2001;

Saltveit, 2003). It is known that beneficial modified

atmospheres within fresh-cut produce packages are

attained by correctly choosing packaging materials that

will provide the appropriate levels of oxygen and carbon

dioxide within a fresh-cut produce package (IFPA,

2003). In fact, there are a wide variety of polymers

and gas mixtures available for packaging fresh-cut

produce that should be optimize for each commodity

(Barry-Ryan, Pacussi, & O’Beirne, 2000). However,

there is still a major concern about the product safety

associated with the use of MAP mainly due to the

A. Allende et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 17 (2006) 513–519 515

desired suppression of spoilage microorganisms which

extends the shelf-life if compared to food products

stored in a normal air environment, and this may create

opportunities for slower growing pathogenic bacteria

(Rosnes, Sivertsvik, & Skara, 2003).

It would be expected that combinations of sanitizers

and/or other intervention methods, would have additive,

synergistic or antagonistic interactions (Parish & David-

son, 1993; Rajkowski & Baldwin, 2003). According to

this, the hurdle technology looks after the combination of

different preservation techniques as a preservation

strategy. The intelligent selection of hurdles in terms of

the number required, the intensity of each and the

sequence of applications to achieve a specified outcome

are expected to have significant potential for the future of

minimally processed fruit and vegetables (McMeekin &

Ross, 2002).

Use of combined preservation methodsPhotochemical processes

Recently, many studies have demonstrated the

effectiveness of surface decontamination techniques to

reduce the microbial risk involved with the consumption

of fresh fruits and vegetables (Erkan, Wang, & Krizek,

2001; Yaun, Sumner, Eifert, & Marcy, 2004). Non-

ionizing, artificial ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation is

extensively used in a broad range of antimicrobial

applications including disinfection of water, air, food

preparation surfaces, food containers (Wang, McGregor,

Anderson, & Woolsey, 2005) and surface disinfection of

vegetable commodities (Marquenie et al., 2002). The

ultraviolet light acts as an antimicrobial agent directly

due to DNA damage (Rame, Chaloupecky, Sojkova, &

Bencko, 1997) and indirectly due to the induction of

resistance mechanisms in different fruit and vegetables

against pathogens (Liu et al., 1993; Nigro, Ippolito, &

Lima, 1998). Exposure to UV-C also induces the

synthesis of health-promoting compounds such as

anthocyanins and stilbenoids (Cantos, Espın, & Tomas--

Barberan, 2001). However, high UV doses, can cause

damage to the treated tissue as previously described by

Ben-Yehoshua, Rodov, Kim, and Carmeli (1992) and

Nigro et al. (1998). Therefore, the possibility of

decreasing the treatment intensity by combining two or

more treatments to preserve the fruit and vegetable

quality without decreasing the inactivation properties

appears very promising (Marquenie, 2002). Additionally,

UV-C light has already been recommended as best used

in combination with other preservation techniques, since

the accumulative damage due to microbial DNA appears

effective in decreasing the overall number of bacteria

cells, but does not result in complete sterilization (Rame

et al., 1997). Further, these postharvest treatments can

be easily added to other techniques such as chilling,

disinfection and MAP to preserve quality of minimally

processed fruits and vegetables (Maharaj, Arul, &

Nadeau, 1999).

Many researchers have already tested the synergistic

effects of combining UV-C light with chemical disinfec-

tion and/or MAP on vegetable produce. The beneficial

effects of combining chlorinated water to disinfect fresh-

cut fruit and vegetables with UV-C light treatments and

storage in MAP has already been tested (Allende &

Artes, 2003a,b; Allende, McEvoy, Yaguang, Artes, &

Wang, 2006; Lopez-Rubira, Conesa, Allende, & Artes,

2005). Most of these studies showed the effectiveness of

microbial reductions in fresh-cut fruits and vegetables by

using chemical disinfection, low UV-C light doses (from

1 to 4 kJ mK2) and storage under conventional MAP,

without any detrimental effect on the organoleptical

quality of the product.

UV-C light has also been combined with other

postharvest treatments such as mild thermal treatments.

Improvements in keeping quality and reducing incidence

of storage disease in various horticultural crops have

been described by immersion in water at elevated

temperatures (Delaquis, Stewart, Toivonen, & Moyls,

1999; Loaiza-Velarde, Mangrich, Campos-Vargas, &

Saltveit, 2003; Loaiza-Velarde, Tomas-Barberan, & Salt-

veit, 1997). Saltveit (2000) demonstrated the beneficial

effects of a heatshock treatment to reduce browning in

fresh-cut lettuce (e.g. 90 s at 45 8C) due to the redirecting

of protein synthesis away from the production of wound-

induced enzymes of phenolic metabolism, and toward the

production of innocuous heat shock proteins. Marquenie

et al. (2002) tested the efficacy of heat treatments and

UV-C light for controlling postharvest decay of

strawberries and sweet cherries. In most of the cases,

fungal inactivation was achieved for the treatments with

the highest UV-C dose (10 kJ mK2) combined with a

long thermal treatment (15 min at 45 8C). The sequence

of the treatments seems to have an influence on

microbial inactivation for strawberries. The fungal

inactivation is greater when the ultraviolet treatment

precedes the thermal treatment. The possibility of

lowering the intensity of the heat treatment when

preceded by an ultraviolet illumination results in a

decrease of fruit damage caused by heating. Since less

intense thermal conditions can be used, visual damage to

the strawberries is also reduced.

UV-C light can also be used in advanced oxidation

processes (AOP) (e.g. UV/ozone), which use UV

oxidation as a destruction process that oxidizes organic

constituents in water by the addition of strong oxidizers

and UV light. In this case, oxidation of organic material

or microorganisms is caused by direct reaction with the

oxidizers, UV photolysis, and through the synergistic

action of UV light, in combination with O3. The AOP as

an oxidation step before biodegradation represent an

alternative that may be more effective and less costly

than O3 alone. This technology combines the potent

A. Allende et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 17 (2006) 513–519516

oxidizing action of O3, which is able to convert many

non-biodegradable organic materials into biodegradable

forms, minimizing the accumulation of inorganic waste

in the environment (Kim, Yousef, & Dave, 1999).

Beltran, Selma, Marın et al. (2005) tested treatments of

10 ppm total dose of ozone in water activated by UV-C

in extending the shelf-life of fresh-cut lettuce. They

concluded that ozonated water activated with UV-C

could be an excellent alternative to chlorine for washing

shredded lettuce not only by reducing microbial

populations on the product but also by maintaining the

visual quality and controlling browning without any

detrimental effect on the antioxidant constituents when

combining with active MAP.

Light pulses have been used successfully as a new

technique for the inactivation of bacteria and fungi on

the surface of food products when the major compo-

sition of the emitted spectrum is UV light (Marquenie et

al., 2002). Very little information is available about the

efficacy of light pulses to inhibit microbial growth and

prolong shelf-life of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables.

Some studies have focused on the microbial and sensory

quality of fresh-cut vegetables using intense light pulses

combined with MAP. Microbial reductions up to

2.04 log has been reported by the combination of both

techniques, although the shelf-life of the product was

not always extended (Gomez-Lopez et al., 2005;

Hoornstra, de Jong, & Notermans, 2002). Additionally,

combination of pulsed light with mild heat treatments in

strawberries and cherries has also been reported.

Manvell (1997) prolonged the period without visible

fungal growth for 1 or 2 days compared to the control.

Low-dose gamma irradiation is very effective redu-

cing bacterial, parasitic, and protozoan pathogens in raw

foods. Irradiation was approved by the FDA for use on

fruits and vegetables at a maximum level of 1.0 kGy

(IFT, 1983). It has already been tested in minimally

processed fruit and vegetables observing that dose of

2.0 kGy strongly inhibited the growth of aerobic

mesophilic and lactic microflora in shredded carrots

(Chervin & Boisseau, 1994). Additionally, it has been

combined with conventional disinfection methods such

as chlorinated water or preservation technologies by

using MAP (Foley, Euper, Caporaso, & Prakash, 2004;

Hagenmaier & Baker, 1997; Prakash, Inthajak, Hui-

bregtse, Caporaso, & Foley, 2000; Prakash, Guner,

Caporaso, & Foley, 2000). They concluded that treating

fresh-cut lettuce with low-dose irradiation of about

0.20–0.35 kGy combined with a chlorine (80–100 ppm

NaOCl) wash and MAP, increases the microbiological

shelf-life without adversely affecting the visual quality

or flavor of the product. Additionally, when inoculated

cilantro was treated with a combination of irradiation

(1.05 kGy) and chlorination (200 ppm), Escherichia coli

O157:H7 was reduced more than 7 log cycles without

adversely affecting the sensory quality of the product.

This combined treatment was more efficient than

irradiation or chlorination alone.

Non photochemical processesMany combinations of physical and chemical treat-

ments have been tested in recent years to enhance the

antimicrobial action of different disinfectant agents.

Among them, the use of acidic electrolyzed water

(AcEW) produced by the electrolysis of an aqueous

sodium chlorite solution as a disinfectant for minimally

processed vegetable products has been successfully

applied (Izumi, 1999). Koseki, Yoshida, Isobe, and

Itoh (2001) washed lettuce in alkaline electrolyzed water

(AlEW) for 1 min and then disinfected it in AcEW for

1 min, obtaining a 2 log cfu gK1 reduction in viable

aerobes. However, the combination of both washes did

not improve the microbial reduction obtained by

chlorinated or ozonated water. On the other hand,

AcEW has been combined with ozone by using

sequential washes (Wang, Feng, & Luo, 2004). Fresh-

cut cilantro was washed in aqueous ozone for 5 min

followed by a 5 min AcEW wash and failed to yield a

higher aerobic bacteria reduction than AcEW alone. The

authors theorized that the unexpected outcome may be

caused by factors such as the internalization of microbes

on cilantro surfaces.

Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) has been recognized as a

strong oxidizing agent with a broad biocidal effective-

ness due to the high oxidation capacity of about 2.5

times greater than chlorine (Benarde, Israel, Oliveri, &

Granstrom, 1965). Many studies have demonstrated its

antimicrobial activity (Han, Guentert, Smith, Linton, &

Nelson, 1999; Han, Sherman, Linton, Nielson, &

Nelson, 2000) since its use was allowed in washing

fruits and vegetables by the FDA (1998). Singh, Singh,

and Bhunia (2003) studied the efficacies of aqueous

chlorine dioxide, ozonated water and thyme essential oil

alone or sequentially in killing mixed strains of E. coli

O157:H7 inoculated on alfalfa seeds. They found that

the sequential washing procedure (thyme oil followed by

ozonated water and aqueous ClO2) was significantly

more effective in removal of E. coli O157:H7. However,

the use of the combination of these techniques may

adversely affect the organoleptical properties.

Power ultrasound, as used for cleaning in the

electronics industry, has a potential application to fresh

produce decontamination (Seymour, Burfoot, Smith,

Cox, & Lockwood, 2002). Ultrasonic fields consist of

waves at high amplitude, which form cavitation bubbles,

which generate the mechanical energy which has a

‘cleaning action on surfaces’ (Scherba, Weigel, &

O’Brien, 1991; Sala, Burgos, Condon, Lopez, & Rose,

1995; Raso, Pagan, Condon, & Sala, 1998). Seymour et

al. (2002) reported that cavitation enhances the

mechanical removal of attached or entrapped bacteria

A. Allende et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 17 (2006) 513–519 517

on the surfaces of fresh produce by displacing or

loosening particles through a shearing or scrubbing

action, achieving an additional log reduction when

applying to a chlorinated water wash. Scouten and

Beuchat (2002) studied the combined effect of chemical,

heat and ultrasound treatments in killing or removing

Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 on alfalfa seed

postulating that combined stresses and enhanced

exposure of cells to chemicals would result in higher

lethality. They observed that ultrasound treatment at

38.5–40.5 kHz enhances the effectiveness of chemical

sanitizers in killing pathogenic growth. The use of hot

water (55 8C) also contributes to an increase of lethality,

although, combination of heat with ultrasound is more

detrimental to seed viability compared with heat

treatment alone. Delaquis et al. (1999) also reported

treatments of hot water combined with chemical

disinfectants such as chlorine, since the lethality of

chlorine is known to increase with temperature (Weber

& Levine, 1944). They reported that warm chlorinated

water washes offer an attractive alternative to retard by

several days the development of spoilage microflora as

well as brown discoloration (Delaquis et al., 1999).

A newer tendency has been reported by Bari et al.

(2005), who combined the efficacy of chemical disinfectant

with the antimicrobial effect of bacteriocins produced by

lactic acid bacteria. They investigated the efficacy of nisin

and pediocin treatments in combination with EDTA, citric

acid, sodium lactate, potassium sorbate and phytic acid in

reducing Listeria monocytogenes on fresh-cut produce.

They concluded that pediocin and nisin applications in

combination with organic acids caused a significant

reduction of native microflora and inoculated populations

on fresh produce.

Finally, the combined use of several disinfectant

agents has been widely report in the last few years

(Beltran, Selma, Tudela, & Gil, 2005; Ukuku, Bari,

Kawamoto, & Isshiki 2005; Uyttendaele, Neyts, Van-

derswalmen, Notebaert, & Debevere, 2004). Com-

binations of lactic acid, chlorinated water, thyme

essential oil solution, sodium lactate, citric acid,

hydrogen peroxide, ozone and peroxyacetic acid were

already tested. In general, combinations of chemical

disinfectants maintain better both, sensory and microbial

quality of the product. Therefore, for the future, more

studies should be carried out to determine the synergistic

effects of combining technologies.

ConclusionsJudging from the available literature, it could be

concluded that there are many and very different tech-

nologies that can be presently used to reduce loss of quality

and increase safety of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, but

any of them has the final solution to control all the

parameters that maintain the quality and shelf-life of

minimally processed products.

AcknowledgementsThe authors are grateful to Spanish CICYT (Ministerio

de Educacion y Ciencia) project AGL2004-03060 for

financial support.

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