Use of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy for shelf-life discrimination of green asparagus stored in a cool room under controlled atmosphere.
This study sought to evaluate the ability of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to classify intact green asparagus, in refrigerated storage under controlled atmosphere, by storage time and post-harvest treatments applied. A total of 468 green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis, L., cultivar UC-157) were sampled after 7, 14, 21 and 28 days of refrigerated storage (2 degrees C, 95% R.H.) under three controlled atmosphere (CA) treatments: air (21 kPa O(2)+0.3 kPa CO(2)), CA(1) (5 kPa O(2)+5 kPa CO(2)) and CA(2) (10 kPa O(2)+10kPa CO(2)). Two commercially available spectrophotometers were evaluated for this purpose: a scanning monochromator (SM) of 400-2500 nm and a combination of diode array and scanning monochromator (DASM) of 350-2500 nm. Models developed using partial least squares 2-discriminant analysis (PLS2-DA) correctly classified between 81-100% of samples by post-harvest storage time, depending on the instrument used. Using similar models, the DASM instrument correctly classified 85% of samples by post-harvest treatment, compared with 72% using the SM. These results confirmed that NIR spectroscopy, coupled with the use of chemometric techniques, provides a reliable, accurate method of predicting the shelf-life of asparagus under different storage conditions and as a function of post-harvest treatment applied; the method can be readily applied at industrial level.
Sánchez
María-Teresa
MT
Departamento de Bromatología y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Universidad de Cordoba, Edificio Charles Darwin, 14071 Cordoba, Spain. teresa.sanchez@uco.es
Pérez-Marín
Dolores
D
Flores-Rojas
Katherine
K
Guerrero
José-Emilio
JE
Garrido-Varo
Ana
A
D027761:Asparagus Plant; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D005511:Food Handling; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D010100:Oxygen; D010313:Partial Pressure; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D014675:Vegetables / Q000592:standards*
D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D010100:Oxygen