Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Citrus and Other Subtropical Products Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #371765
Research Project: Quality, Shelf-life and Health Benefits for Fresh, Fresh-cut and Processed Products for Citrus and Other Tropical/Subtropical-grown Fruits and Vegetables

Location: Citrus and Other Subtropical Products Research

Title: A Brief Hot-water Treatment Alleviates Chilling Injury Symptoms in Fresh Tomatoes

Author
item LOAYZA, FRANCISCO - University Of Florida
item BRECHT, JEFFREY - University Of Florida
item SIMONNE, AMARAT - University Of Florida
item Plotto, Anne
item Baldwin, Elizabeth - Liz
item Bai, Jinhe
item LON-KAN, ELENA - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/13/2020
Publication Date: 10/1/2020
Citation: Loayza, F., Brecht, J., Simonne, A., Plotto, A., Baldwin, E.A., Bai, J., Lon-Kan, E. 2020. A Brief Hot-water Treatment Alleviates Chilling Injury Symptoms in Fresh Tomatoes. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 101:54-64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10821.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10821

Interpretive Summary: Tomatoes show symptoms of chilling injury when stored below 13 °C (55 °F). This research showed that a brief treatment of tomatoes in hot water (52 °C/126 °F for 5 minutes) conferred a significant resistance to decay to tomatoes stored at 5 °C/41 °F for one or two weeks. Furthermore, the heat treatment increased content of health benefit compounds such as lycopene, ascorbic acid and total phenolics in tomatoes treated with hot water at the breaker/turning stage, and stored at 5 °C for one week.

Technical Abstract: FRAP and sensory profile between HW-treated and non-treated fruit. Interestingly, HW treatment reduced ripening by 3 d reduction in MG tomatoes stored at 5 °C for 2 wk or at 12.5 °C for 1 wk, but there was minimal variation for all the other storage conditions. Therefore, we concluded that the HW treatment applied to MG or BT tomatoes can confer resistance to CI and alleviate the development of some CI symptoms. This is possibly through stabilization of cell membranes and the scavenging capacity of ROS that help maintain their functionality, sustain important metabolic pathways under chilling conditions, increase the content of compounds conferring chilling resistance, and increase the content of antioxidants to combat oxidative stress.