EFFECTS OF ACIDIC ELECTROLYZED WATER WITH DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES ON MICROBIAL CONTROL AND QUALITY OF FRESH-CUT BANANA LEAVES DURING STORAGE

The effects of acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) on microbial control and quality of fresh-cut banana leaves during storage were studied. Fresh-cut banana leaves cv. Tanee (TN) and cv. Klauay Namwa (KN) were sanitized with either 4°C or 27+2°C of 50 ppm acidic AEW for various times (10, 20 and 30 minutes). The sanitized sample was packed in polyethylene (PE) bag and storage at 5+2◦C for 7 days, before transferred to 27+2°C to evaluate their shelf-life. The results showed that sanitization with 4°C and 27+2°C of AEW for 30 minutes were completely eliminated the microorganism on fresh-cut samples from both cultivars. Nevertheless, these contact time had the highest loss of more than 78% after 5 days at room temperature. Sanitized samples with AEW for 20 and 30 minutes effectively delayed the microbial growth, therefore the amount of microorganism remained below EU Regulation (EC) No. 2073/2005 criteria after storage. The shelf-life of fresh-cut samples was 13 days and terminated after their visual appearance such as yellowing or browning occurred. Fresh-cut samples sanitization with both treatments had similar quality changes such as color changes and chlorophyll contents. However, sanitization with 4°C AEW had lower weight loss than those of with 27°C AEW during storage at room temperature. It also effectively reduced the microorganism on fresh-cut samples and had the lowest loss which was 22%. Therefore, sanitization with 4°C AEW for 20 minutes was an appropriate method to sanitized fresh-cut banana leaves for both cultivars.