G. Lopezgalvez et al., QUALITY CHANGES IN PACKAGED SALAD PRODUCTS DURING STORAGE, ZEITSCHRIFT FUR LEBENSMITTEL-UNTERSUCHUNG UND-FORSCHUNG A-FOOD RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, 205(1), 1997, pp. 64-72
The quality of four types of packaged salad products (retail and foods
ervice Garden salad, Caesar salad, and European salad) manufactured by
five major processors and stored at 5 degrees C for 20 days was asses
sed. The O-2 and CO2 concentrations in the bags were 0.2-1.5% and 5-30
%, respectively. Overall visual quality scores were generally at or ab
ove the minimum acceptable value for salability at the ''Best if Used
by Date'' (12-16 days after processing). Product sensory attributes (v
isual, flavor and textural properties) determined by a trained judge a
nd a sensory panel significantly correlated for most of the parameters
. Off-odors developed in the packages and their scores significantly c
orrelated with ethanol and acetaldehyde concentrations in the lettuce
tissue. Sugar content decreased 12% (iceberg) to 20% (romaine) from da
ys 0 to 15. Total aerobic microbial load increased by an average of 2.
5-3 log units over 20 days.