Commercial fast-cooling programs for ‘Rosa’ mango: Impacts on fruit quality¹

Programas comerciais de resfriamento rápido para manga ‘Rosa’: Impactos na qualidade da fruta

HIGHLIGHTS:

Effects of commercial fast-cooling are important for post-harvest quality of ‘Rosa’ mango.

The relationship among cooling, cold storage, and fruit position influences the shelf-life of the product.

Choosing a time program for ‘Rosa’ mango contributes to its fast-cooling efficiency.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to verify the impact of commercial fast-cooling programs on physicochemical quality of ‘Rosa’ mangoes. The study was carried out in a mango packing house in the São Francisco Valley region, Petrolina, PE, Brazil, between August and October 2018. The experiment followed a randomized block design, with three replicates and one pallet per replicate. The treatments were organized in a factorial scheme 2 × 2 × 3 (two fast-cooling times [120 and 240 min] × two storage times x three positions in the pallet). Sixty mangoes were proportionally distributed in three layers at different heights on each of the six pallets. Three pallets were subjected to fast cooling for 120 min and the other three for 240 min. All fruits were stored for 7 and 14 days at 6 °C plus three days of shelf-life at 20 °C. Regardless of cooling program and fruit position in the pallet, the seven-eighths cooling time (SECT) was not attained. The titratable acidity of fruits under 240-min fast cooling decreased significantly after 14 days of cold storage. Fruit weight loss, pulp firmness, dry matter, and soluble solids content were not affected by the fast-cooling programs, both after storage and during shelf-life period. Commercial fast-cooling program can be performed for 120 min.

Key words:
cold storage; postharvest analysis of mango; physicochemical variables