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Mechanical Properties of Tomatoes Subjected to an Induced Compression during Storage
Author(s) -
Oliveira Gabriel Henrique Horta,
Corrêa Paulo Cesar,
Botelho Fernando Mendes,
Oliveira Ana Paula Lelis Rodrigues
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of texture studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.593
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1745-4603
pISSN - 0022-4901
DOI - 10.1111/jtxs.12129
Subject(s) - shelf life , mechanical compression , compression (physics) , materials science , composite material , engineering , mechanical engineering , biomedical engineering
The purpose of this work was to evaluate texture alterations due to compression load on tomatoes stored at 15 and 25C, which simulates transport in type “ K ” wooden boxes. The following mechanical properties were analyzed during storage: firmness, proportional deformity modulus, energy to deform the product, penetration force of the tomato skin and the energy required for penetration. Structural alterations were noticed solely by a puncture test. The mechanical property values significantly decreased during storage. The weight loss varied significantly among control and treatment tomatoes during storage, and the tomatoes stored at 25C obtained higher weight loss values. These results will aid in generating logistic procedures to prevent mechanical damage to tomatoes when they are transported in wooden boxes, thus increasing producer profitability. Furthermore, if damage to tomatoes does occur, professionals will be able to predict the shelf life of the tomatoes. Practical Applications Results of this manuscript may aid and alert developers of packages to prevent quality loss due to compression loads throughout transport and/or storage. Furthermore, in order to analyze quickly the quality of tomatoes, puncture test can be used, in which its parameters were obtained. The manuscript states clearly that refrigeration is not efficient in order to prevent quality loss if the tomato fruits are submitted to compression loads. Thus, prior to storage temperature, compression of tomatoes stacked on top of one another must be avoided in order to maintain quality and increase shelf life of this product.