ACTIVE PACKAGING IN MASTER BAG SOLUTIONS AND SHELF LIFE EXTENSION OF RED RASPBERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES: A RELIABLE STRATEGY TO REDUCE FOOD LOSS
Tesi di Dottorato
Data di Pubblicazione:
2015
Citazione:
ACTIVE PACKAGING IN MASTER BAG SOLUTIONS AND SHELF LIFE EXTENSION OF RED RASPBERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES: A RELIABLE STRATEGY TO REDUCE FOOD LOSS / A. Adobati ; supervisor: S.Limbo ; co-supervisor: L. Piergiovanni ; cordinatore: M.G. Fortina. DIPARTIMENTO DI SCIENZE PER GLI ALIMENTI, LA NUTRIZIONE E L'AMBIENTE, 2015 Dec 10. 28. ciclo, Anno Accademico 2015. [10.13130/adobati-alessandro_phd2015-12-10].
Abstract:
A rough estimation for avoidable losses in the European Union (EU) is 280 kg per capita per year, of which 13% can arise from agricultural production, 31% from product processing and 45% from households. The role of packaging in preserving fresh and processed foods is well known and documented but little research is available about the relation existing among new packaging solutions, shelf life extension and Food Loss, and waste reduction at different levels at the supply chain. Techniques as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) have been largely used to determine the Environmental Impact of food production and processing and packaging materials. However, the assessment taking into account the food and its packaging as a whole system, and of Food Loss reduction is necessary. In fact, from a life cycle perspective, no assessment of the Environmental Impact of food packaging showed the positive benefits of reduced Food Losses in the value chain.
In this PhD project, the shelf life extension of red raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.) and strawberries (Fragaria x Ananassa Duch) using active packaging solutions was investigated. The shelf life extension, critical indicators and cut-off criteria were defined as a tool to point out the time at which the lifetime ended and they were elaborated by multivariate approach. The final aim was to estimate the role of a new packaging technology in reducing the Environmental Impact along the supply chain in relation to the benefits of the Food Loss reduction derived from the actual Shelf Life Extension.
For raspberries trial, three packaging solutions was studied: a) Lidded macro-perforated PET trays containing 125 g of berries, stored in air and considered as “traditional” packaging; b) lidded macro-perforated PET trays containing 125 g of berries inserted into master bags made of plastic materials with different permeabilities to gas and water vapour. This solution was referred to a passive modified packaging solution. c) macro-perforated PET trays containing 125 g of berries inserted into a master bag unit made of LDPE (OTR 4000 cm3*m-2*day-1 at 23 °C and 0 %RH). Before sealing, a defined volume of compressed dry air (moisturized by using distilled water applied onto paper towels), one oxygen scavenger, and a different number of pre-activated carbon dioxide emitters were added to the master bag.
For strawberries trial three packaging solutions was studied: a) Lidded PET macro-perforated trays containing 250 g of fruits and stored in air were considered as “traditional” packaging; b) lidded PET macro-perforated trays (250 g of berries/tray) were inserted into an LDPE (OTR 4000 cm3*m-2*day-1 at 23 °C and 0 %RH) master bag. c) A different number of PET macro-perforated trays were inserted into an LDPE master bag. A central composite design (CCD) with four factors (number of CO2 emitters, number of O2 scavengers, ratio between packaging surface area and unfilled volume, storage time) at five levels was performed to optimize the active packaging solution.
All the samples were stored in a cold chamber (5±1 °C; 70±5 %RH).
Different physical-chemical and sensorial analyses were performed as following to identify for each packaging solution the shelf life value: Damaged berries (%), Mouldy berries (%); Weight loss (%); Colour (CIE L*, a* and b* parameters); Total solids (g/100g); Soluble solids (g/100g); pH; Titratable acidity (g citric acid/100 g); Consistency determined by single compression test (force*deformation at 60% of deformation); Volatile compounds by SPME-GC-MS technique; Sensorial global and Visual acceptability. In order to analyze the results from a multidimensional point of view, the obtained data were analyzed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA).
Il ciclo di vita per ogni
Tipologia IRIS:
Tesi di dottorato
Keywords:
Raspberry; Strawberry; Active packaging; Shelf life extension; LCA
Elenco autori:
A. Adobati
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