Maintain the firmness of minimally processed watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) using calcium chloride and calcium propionate

Abstract

A minimally processed fruit industry is a very lucrative industry. One of the fruits used in this industry is watermelon. Minimally processed can cause fruits to loss their firmness and thus affecting their quality. The objectives of this study are to determine the suitable treatment to prevent softening in fresh cut water melon and also to study the storage stability of the fresh cut watermelon. Watermelon was cut into cubes and were dipped in calcium chloride (0.5 % w/v), calcium propionate (0.5 % w/v) and distilled water as control. The samples were then stored for 5 days in LDPE at temperature of 3 ± 2°c. The physiochemical analyses evaluated on the samples are firmness, color and total soluble solids (TSS). Treatments showed no significance different in firmness, color and also TSS. The reduction in firmness was observed and it is caused by insufficient concentration of calcium treatments and also by the changes in cell wall due to ripening and maturation. The color of treated watermelon was retained by calcium treatment while TSS of watermelon was increased at the end of study.