Changes in Physicochemical and Sensory Properties of Fruits as Affected by Chlorine Sterilization

The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in physicochemical and sensory properties of raw fruits during washing and chlorine treatments. Strawberry and banana were pre-prepared at different concentration of chlorinated water(0 ppm, 50 ppm and 100 ppm), immersion time(3 min and 5 min), and number of post-rinsing(1 time, 2 times and 3 times). The physicochemical properties such as pH, sugar contents, residual chlorine contents, color values and hardness of the fruits were analyzed, and the sensory quality were evaluated throughout the sterilization treatment process. After washing strawberry with 100 ppm chlorinated water and 3 times of post-rinsing, pH and residual chlorine contents were showed a little difference, while sugar contents, hardness, and color values(L, a and b) were reduced. In case of banana, pH, sugar contents and residual chlorine contents were not affected, and hardness and L color value were reduced. However, a and b color values of banana were gradually increased as the development of brown discoloration. Sensory properties of the samples were affected by the chlorine sterilization treatment. In overall acceptance, strawberry and banana treated with 100 ppm chlorinated water showed the lowest scores among treatments. Therefore it could be suggested that the application of 50 ppm chlorinated water for minutes with over 3 times of post-rinsing was the effective pre-preparation method without affecting the quality of the fruits.