Effect of minimal processing on physiology and quality of fresh-cut potatoes, a review

Fresh-cut fruit and vegetable are minimally processed products that have to maintain their quality (appearance, texture, flavour and nutritive value) similar to those of the fresh product. The fundamental principle underlying the quality of these commodities is that they are metabolic active tissues and, as a consequence, show physiological response to preparation procedures as well as to the environment created in the package in which they are enclosed. Minimal processing for fresh-cut potato production includes raw material selection, washing, peeling and cutting, pre-treatments, drying, weighing and packaging. The purpose of this review is to analyse the effects of the different minimal processing steps on the physiology and related quality of fresh-cut potatoes. Particular attention is given to the newest studies on processing innovation and innovative scientific approaches for a better understanding of fresh-cut products as biological systems. In this direction the use of ozone sanitization, natural dipping pre-treatments and/or coatings (e.g. edible film enriched in ascorbic and citric acid), and modified atmosphere packaging at high O 2 levels result the most promising and non-invasive techniques for the preservation of fresh-cut potatoes. As far as physiological studies of the product are concerned, fundamental metabolic research for process optimisation and quality assurance is needed. For this aim isothermal calorimetry may provide a versatile tool to conduct fundamental metabolic studies of the effect of different processing steps on the quality and shelf-life of fresh-cut potatoes. (Less)