The influence of harvest period and fruit ripeness at harvest on minimally processed cactus pears (Opuntia ficus-indica L. Mill.) stored under passive atmosphere

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of (a) harvest season (summer and late crop), (b) fruit ripening stage at harvest and (c) time of storage, on the quality of minimal processed cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica). Fresh cut peeled cactus pears harvested at commercial harvest stage or when ripe on tree in August (summer crop) and October (late crop), were stored for 3, 5, 7 and 12 d at 5 C and 95% RH in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packages under passive atmosphere conditions. Visual quality and crunchiness score, flesh color, microbiological analysis, total soluble solids (TSS), total acidity (TA), total phenolics, ascorbic acid and b-carotene contents were measured. TSS content in fruit flesh did not change during storage, but late crop fruit harvested fully ripe had the highest content. The CO2 concentration inside the package was higher for summer than late fruit and for fully ripe fruit than commercial harvest stage. Fresh cut summer cactus pears lost their marketability and crunchiness after 3 d, while those from the late crop retained good marketability after 5 or 7 d at 5 C, depending on their ripeness stage at harvest. Fresh cut fruit of the summer crop had twice the ascorbic acid content than late cop fruit until 5 d after storage. Fully ripe fresh cut fruit of the summer crop had the lowest b-carotene content. The mesophilic aerobic microorganisms did not change significantly with treatments, until 12 d after storage, when fully ripe fresh cut fruit had the highest count. Mold content was higher in fully ripe than in fruit harvested at commercial ripeness. Ultimately, late fruit, manually peeled and stored at 5 C under passive atmosphere, retained their original quality longer than fully ripe fruit of the same season or summer fruit harvested at either ripeness stage.