Acta Horticulturae, cilt.1194, ss.537-543, 2018 (SCI-Expanded)
© 2018 International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved.The effects of different ultraviolet-C (UV-C) illumination dosages on postharvest quality of minimally processed broccoli florets were investigated. For this purpose, broccoli florets were treated with 3 different UV-C illumination dosages (4.4, 8.8 and 13.2 kJ m-2) and stored at 0°C temperature for 21 days under modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). UV-C treated and control samples were taken to examine some physico-chemical changes from different storage conditions with 7-day intervals. Examined physico-chemical changes included: weight loss, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, color, and total phenolics of broccoli florets and CO2 and O2 levels in the MAP. Results showed that UV-C illumination reduced weight loss and hue angle (h°) of broccoli florets compared with the control treatment. However, there were no differences between the control and UV-C illumination dosages on titratable acidity. UV-C illuminated florets had a lower amount of soluble solids compared to that of control samples. The pH and total phenolics were constantly higher in UV-C illuminated florets than that measured on control florets. Furthermore, in the pacakges containing UV-C illuminated florets, O2 levels were always lower while CO2 leves were always higher compared to that measured in control florets.