Conservation on Modified Atmosphere of Onion (Allium cepa L. var. Yellow Granex) Minimally Processed

Abstract

Onions (Allium cepa L) minimally processed presents especially high demand for foodservices, however the cutting process results in an increase in metabolic activity of the tissue, triggering a reduction of its lifetime. Therefore, it was proposed to evaluate the implementation of atmospheres modified (0%O2 , 10%CO2 and 90%N2 ) using two packaging materials (Flexvac® and BOPP®) on the stability of sliced onions against a control sample vacuum packed. The samples were stored for 18 days at 4 °C, and the quality attributes were evaluated in terms of physical-chemical, microbiological and sensorial analysis. The result shows that the three packaging conditions increased value of firmness within the first 5 days of storage, then these values are reduced, which is related to the amount of exudate produced in samples assessed as loss weight , for the three conditions of packaging a loss of 20 % occurs in approximately , being lower for Flexvac®. Sensory analysis, the condition of coextruded vacuum - packaging is that presents greater decrease. In relation to the variables of pH, acidity, color and microbiological growth showed no difference between the treatments. The results indicate that the Flexvac® material is suitable for the packaging of pre - cut onion in modified atmospheres