Developments in osmotic dehydration technique for the preservation of fruits and vegetables

In recent years much attention has been focused on maintaining the freshness of fruits and vegetables by immersion of cellular materials containing water in an osmotic solution. It results in the development of intermediate moisture products having lower water activity, which is imparted by solute gain and water loss. During the process, chemical, physical and biological activities, which deteriorate the foods, are lowered considerably; hence extends the shelf life of food products. In this process moisture is withdrawn from the product at ambient temperature by diffusion, so phase change has been avoided. Besides, it helps to improve the nutritional and sensory attributes of food products and is less energy intensive process as compared to other drying techniques. Osmotic dehydration is influenced by various factors such as osmotic agent, time and temperature, solute concentration, solution to sample ratio, agitation and geometry of the materials. Recently, osmotic dehydration has been combined with several other methods namely, pulsed high electric field, high hydrostatic pressure, ultrasound, centrifugal force, vacuum and gamma irradiation. These techniques have been employed during or after osmotic treatment to enhance osmotic dehydration performance by increasing the cell membrane permeability and mass transfer rate. These combined operations reduce the drying time, minimizing further energy costs. In this study, various segments of osmotic dehydration techniques and its application in food processing as well as recent advances in osmotic dehydration have been reviewed.Industrial relevanceThe osmotic dehydration technique is gaining popularity as a mean of obtaining minimally processed food. This review paper deals with the kinetics and mechanisms of osmotic dehydration technique for the preservation of fruits and vegetables. The various factors effecting osmotic mass transfer rate in food have been reviewed. In this paper, the combined effect of osmotic dehydration and several other innovative techniques (pulsed high electric field, high hydrostatic pressure, ultrasound, centrifugal force, vacuum and gamma irradiation) on the quality and shelf life of fruits and vegetables have been reviewed. These techniques have been employed during or after osmotic treatment to enhance osmotic dehydration performance by increasing the cell membrane permeability. These combined operations reduce the drying time, minimizing further energy costs as well as improving the quality of fruits and vegetables during storage.     

Solute Transfer in Osmotic Dehydration of Vegetable Foods: A Review

While various mechanisms have been proposed for the water transfer during osmotic dehydration (OD), little progress has been made to understand the mechanisms of solute transfer during osmotic dehydration. The transfer of solutes has been often described only by the diffusion mechanism; however, numerous evidences suggest the participation of a variety of mechanisms. This review deals with the main issues of solute transfer in the OD of vegetables. In this context, several studies suggest that during OD of fruits and vegetables, the migration of solutes is not influenced by diffusion. Thus, new theories that may explain the solute transport are analyzed, considering the influence of the plant microstructure and its interaction with the physicochemical properties of osmotic liquid media. In particular, the surface adhesion phenomenon is analyzed and discussed, as a possible mechanism present during the transfer of solutes in OD.     

物理场辅助渗透脱水技术及其在果蔬干燥中的应用

渗透脱水是一种促进果蔬干燥、保持果蔬感官和功能特性、延长果蔬货架期的非热加工技术。渗透脱水技术的主要缺点是传质效率低,物理场辅助渗透脱水技术可有效地提升渗透脱水效率。物理场辅助渗透脱水技术包括:超声波辅助技术、真空辅助技术、高静水压和高压脉冲电场辅助技术,是近年来果蔬干燥研究的热点。通过研究归纳国内外相关文献,分别从果蔬渗透脱水的机理及其传质效率影响因素、物理场辅助渗透脱水技术及动力学模型、物理场辅助渗透脱水在果蔬干燥的应用3个方面综述了物理场辅助渗透脱水技术近年来的研究进展,总结应用中存在的问题,提出未来发展方向。     

热带亚热带果蔬渗透脱水研究进展

从渗透脱水的影响因素、渗透脱水对热带亚热带果蔬的影响以及渗透脱水传质动力学三个方面综述了果蔬渗透脱水的研究进展,其中重点介绍了渗透脱水的影响因素,同时对果蔬渗透脱水技术的局限性及其应用前景进行了探讨。     

Mass Transfer Modeling and Shrinkage Consideration during Osmotic Dehydration of Fruits and Vegetables

During osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables, as water and/or other substances are removed from the material, shrinkage follows depending on the extent of net mass loss. Mass transfer is usually predicted through modeling. However, common models developed for osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables make assumptions that often deviate far from reality, including large heterogeneity, variability and complexity in properties of fruits and vegetables. This generates some skepticism about such models and minimizes their potential industrial reliability. This paper reviews osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables through a basic approach, provides a critical view on modeling and points out the factors that affect shrinkage and mass transfer based on an extensive evaluation of pertinent literature.     

不同聚合度糖渗透对苹果片干燥特性及品质的影响

渗透作为果蔬干燥预处理方式,能减少干燥时间、提高产品质量。为探究不同聚合度糖渗透对苹果片热风-压差闪蒸联合干燥特性及产品品质的影响,采用单糖(果糖、葡萄糖)、二糖(蔗糖、麦芽糖)、三糖(棉子糖)、四糖(水苏糖)对苹果片进行渗透和热风-压差闪蒸联合干燥实验。对渗透苹果片热风干燥特性曲线进行干燥动力学模型拟合,选择热风干燥至水分比为0.1的样品进行压差闪蒸处理,并对所得苹果脆片质构和色泽进行分析。结果表明:除麦芽糖外,随着渗透所用糖的聚合度增加,渗透效率降低;Page模型能准确地(R~20.998)描述渗透后苹果片的热风干燥规律;与未渗透处理的对照组样品相比,实验所选不同聚合度糖能显著提高苹果脆片的硬度,其中棉子糖和水苏糖对脆度提高作用最显著;此外,渗透可以保护苹果片色泽,但不同糖液渗透后苹果片的ΔE差异并不显著。本研究可为果蔬干燥渗透预处理的糖种类的选择提供理论依据。     

应用于鲜切果蔬中的保鲜技术研究进展

鲜切果蔬因其方便、健康、新鲜等特点日益受到人们的青睐,销售量逐年增加。鲜切果蔬又称为切割果蔬、半加工果蔬、调理果蔬等,通常是指改变了蔬菜、水果物理形状、但仍然保持其新鲜状态的果蔬制品或果蔬混合产品。其生产过程一般要经过清洗、分级、修整、切分、洗涤、干燥、包装、贮存、配送等工序,可供消费者直接食用或餐饮业使用。鲜切果蔬保鲜技术对果蔬的色泽、气味、质地、营养成分、组织状态等感官方面得以最大的保留,减少果蔬因经过清洗、去皮、等机械处理过程导致的品质改变。本论文主要对现阶段鲜切果蔬的保鲜技术研究进展进行综述,其主要技术包括物理、化学和综合保鲜技术,以期为今后更深入的研究与探索提供参考与借鉴,并对未来发展方向进行了展望。     

Use of pectinmethylesterase and calcium in osmotic dehydration and osmodehydrofreezing of strawberries

Strawberry samples of two varieties (Camarosa and Elsanta) were dehydrated using different osmotic solutions (60% glucose, fructose, sucrose and raftilose) and subsequently frozen by rapid and high-pressure shift freezing (HPSF). The effect of pectinmethylesterase (PME) and calcium (Ca⁺⁺) added to the osmotic solutions on several compositional parameters and the textural/structural quality of dehydrated and osmodehydrofrozen-then-thawed samples was studied. Due to the presence of PME and Ca⁺⁺ in the osmotic solutions, weight reduction upon dehydration was slightly decreased, which was correlated to a small positive effect on the net uptake of sugars and depression of the initial freezing point. Except for the Camarosa samples treated with sucrose, PME and Ca⁺⁺ in osmotic sugar solutions positively affected the relative hardness of dehydrated fruits, which was ascribed to the effect of PME and Ca⁺⁺ on the cell wall strength of the tissue. No cell wall damage and tissue particle alterations were observed upon dehydration. The effect of osmotic dehydration (OD) using different sugar solutions without PME and Ca⁺⁺ on the texture and structure of frozen-then-thawed samples was limited and sometimes negative. The added PME and Ca⁺⁺ however positively influenced the volume and shape of the thawed samples, which could be related to slightly higher relative hardness values and, for the Elsanta strawberry fruits, also to the reduced (up to 81%) drip loss upon thawing. Upon freezing the dehydrated fruits, no cell wall disruption was observed. Tissue distortion caused by freezing and indicated by a decrease in particle size, convexity and roundness, was compensated by the use of PME and Ca⁺⁺ during OD.     

Mass transfer kinetics and regressional‐desirability optimisation during osmotic dehydration of pumpkin,kiwi and pear

Mass transfer kinetics and optimisation of osmotic dehydration (OD) of fruits and vegetables with diverse structures were studied. Different concentrations of sucrose (20–60 °Brix) and process times (0–24 h) were used. Magee’s model was appropriate for predicting water loss (WL), while Azuara’s model fitted well solids gain (SG) data and represented more accurately the evolution of the complete process close to equilibrium. Polynomial equations for each kinetic variable [WL, SG and weight reduction (WR) – for pumpkin, kiwi and pear] using multiple linear regression were fitted for a selected range of experimental data (30–240 min, 20–60 °Brix). A complete solution algorithm for desirability function was coded in Matlab^® 7.2 (Mathworks, Natick, MA, USA) with the aim to optimise osmotic dehydration process in terms of WL, SG and WR; optimal conditions were found for each fruit. Besides, an optimal common zone was identified for OD corresponding to process time from 114 to 240 min and sucrose concentration from 54 to 60 °Brix.     

Water Diffusion and Concentration Profiles During Osmodehydration and Storage of Apple Tissue

The objective of this work was to study the mobility of water and sucrose during osmotic dehydration and storage of apple tissue and to conduct an analysis of the behavior of the effective diffusion coefficients determined from concentration profiles. Osmotic dehydration (OD) of apple was carried out at 40°C for 1 h, and the solution: sample ratio was 20:1 (w/w). Samples of 20-mm diameter were extracted from the dehydrated apple immediately after the OD process and after 4 and 24 h of storage at 25 °C. Moisture of these samples and soluble solids content were analyzed. Our results showed, after 1 h of OD, the outer layer of the apple sample lost 0.37 kg water/kg apple and gained 0.30 kg sucrose/kg apple. These values decreased toward the internal layers of the apple. A fine layer of greatly dehydrated cells was formed on the surface around the sample, which determined the mass transfer rate in the whole tissue. Smaller mass transport rates were observed in the development of concentration profiles during storage. Diffusion coefficients obtained for the outer layer after 1 h of OD were 1.53 × 10⁻¹⁰ and 1.05 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s for water and sucrose, respectively. The analysis of compositional profiles developed during osmodehydration was a useful tool to get a better understanding of the changes in the water activity of the outer layer of the apple tissue.     

芒果片真空预处理联合超声辅助渗透脱水的传质动力学及品质分析

为解决芒果果脯生产过程中传质效率低、加工时间长的问题,该文研究了脉冲真空预处理联合超声辅助渗透脱水对芒果传质动力学、质量特性和微观结构的影响。结果表明：脉冲真空预处理联合超声辅助渗透脱水组的芒果失水率（54.43%）最高,较常规渗透脱水、脉冲真空预处理渗透脱水、超声辅助渗透脱水组分别高45.85%、14.06%、29.38%,增固率（12.81%）较常规渗透脱水、超声辅助渗透脱水、脉冲真空预处理渗透脱水组分别高90.03%、53.43%、32.06%。用Azuara模型拟合渗透脱水过程中失水率和增固率的变化,高回归系数（R2>0.97）和低RMSE表明Azuara模型可以较好拟合芒果渗透脱水过程,预测脉冲真空预处理联合超声辅助渗透脱水组的平衡脱水率、增固率最高,分别为65.06%和23.35%。测定色泽和质构,发现超声辅助渗透脱水组、脉冲真空预处理联合超声辅助渗透脱水组芒果硬度值显著低于常规渗透脱水组和脉冲真空预处理渗透脱水组（p<0.05）,而芒果色泽得到了较好保护。通过扫描电镜的观察,发现超声处理使芒果细胞壁塌陷与变形、细胞横截面积变小、微孔增多。此外,真空对芒果硬度和微观结构的影响均较小。综上,脉冲真空预处理联合超声辅助渗透脱水通过改变芒果细胞结构、增加传质微通道,提高了渗透脱水的效率,缩短加工时间,可以较好保护芒果色泽,但会导致硬度的下降。     

INFLUENCE OF OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION ON THE VOLATILE PROFILE OF GUAVA FRUITS

ABSTRACT

The effect of osmotic dehydration (OD) on the volatile compounds of guava fruits was studied. Osmotic treatments were carried out at atmospheric pressure, at continuous vacuum and by applying a vacuum pulse (5 min under vacuum and the remaining time at atmospheric pressure) at different temperatures (30, 40 and 50C) and times (1, 2 and 3 h). The volatile compounds of fresh and dehydrated samples were obtained by simultaneous distillation–extraction, and were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. In general, OD caused changes in the concentration of volatiles, depending on the process conditions. The use of lower temperatures and shorter treatment times can diminish the loss of volatiles with respect to the fresh samples. The greatest damage to volatiles loss is produced at 50C for up to 2 h under both pulsed and continuous vacuum. The lowest total volatiles loss occurred at 30 and 40C for up to 3 h under pulsed vacuum or atmospheric pressure.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Consumer demand for high‐quality products with freshlike characteristics has promoted the development of a new category, minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Although these products present, as distinguishing features, simplicity in use and convenience, they generally perish more quickly than the original raw material because of tissue damage caused by mechanical operations. The use of osmotic dehydration process has been presented as a tool for the development of minimally processed fruits. The slight water activity reduction promoted by the process may provide stable products with good nutritional and sensorial quality and with characteristics similar to those of the fresh products. The application of minimal processing to tropical fruits can represent an interesting world market. Fruit flavor is an important quality factor that influences consumer acceptability, and for this reason, its study is relevant in the minimally processed food product.

     

ANALYSIS OF MASS TRANSFER IN OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION BASED ON PROFILES OF CONCENTRATION, SHRINKAGE, TRANSMEMBRANE FLUX AND BULK FLOW VELOCITY IN THE DOMAIN OF TIME AND SPACE

An analysis of mass transfer mechanisms in osmotic dehydration was carried out by examining the profiles of concentration, shrinkage, transmembrane flux and bulk flow velocity in the domain of time and space. The profiles were obtained through simulations using a computer simulation model that described mass transfer in osmotic dehydration based on cellular structure. It was shown that bulk flow was the main resistance for solute penetration, and the magnitude of bulk flow was affected not only by the transmembrane flux, but by internal cellular structure changes. Since bulk flow often played an important role in mass transfer during osmotic dehydration, precautions should be taken when interpreting mass transfer in osmotic dehydration using a simple pure diffusion theory.     

An alternative method for the industrial monitoring of osmotic solution during dehydration of fruit and vegetables: A test-case for tomatoes

In this paper, an alternative procedure for in situ and continuous monitoring of the status of the hypertonic solutions used in industrial osmotic dehydration (OD) process of fruit and vegetables is presented and validated. The proposed method, which is based on microwave reflectometry technique, circumvents the limitation of traditional control methods, since it discovers the relation between the characteristic parameters of osmotic solutions and the corresponding measured reflection coefficients. In fact, as the OD proceeds, the dielectric characteristics of the solution, associated to the reflectometry measurements, can be directly related to the variation of the water activity (a_w), which is the parameter that is typically considered to assess the dewatering capacity of the solution. As a result, through the method presented herein, a continuous monitoring of the dewatering capacity of the osmotic solution, associated to its qualitative status, is possible, which, in turn, is useful also for optimizing the OD industrial process. The proposed method was preliminarily validated on reference aqueous solutions of sucrose. Successively, the method was tested also in a typical industrial application, involving the OD process of tomatoes.     

Metabolic response of organic strawberries and kiwifruit subjected to PEF assisted-osmotic dehydration

This research aims to evaluate the effect of pulsed electric field (PEF) pre-treatment for osmotic dehydration (OD) on physiological changes in organic strawberries and kiwifruits, in terms of metabolic heat production, measured by isothermal calorimeter, and of tissue damage, evaluated by fluorescence microscopy, texture analysis, and electrolytes leakage. Fruits were pre-treated at two electric field strengths (100 and 200 V/cm) using 100 near-rectangular shaped pulses (pulse width: 10 μs, repetition time: 10 ms) and then subjected to OD in hypertonic solutions (40% w/w) of sucrose or trehalose, both added with calcium lactate 1%. Results showed that OD alone allowed to retain the functionality of the membranes causing only a decrease in the endogenous heat production. The application of low electric field strength (100 V/cm) generally preserved the cell viability, which was drastically reduced after OD treatment. On the contrary, the application of 200 V/cm caused tissue damage and loss of cell vitality, probably due to irreversible electroporation.Industrial applicationPEF could be an interesting pre-treatment for reducing the intensity of osmotic dehydration of fruits. However, it is important to understand the implication of the treatment on the tissue metabolism and structure to control the effect on the quality of the final product. This study provides some useful information that could be exploited for the industrial production of intermediate moisture fruit products.     

果蔬贮藏保鲜过程中果胶酶变化的研究进展

果胶是植物细胞壁胞间层的主要成分,果胶酶存在于天然植物组织中,可以催化果胶分解,进而破坏细胞壁的完整性,使得果蔬硬度下降。在贮藏过程中影响果蔬软化的因素主要有乙烯、Ca2+及温度等。常见的果蔬保鲜技术包括有物理、化学及生物保鲜技术,不同的保鲜技术对果蔬软化的机制不同。本介绍了果胶的结构及果胶酶的分类,同时总结了影响果胶酶活性的主要因素及其常见贮藏保鲜技术对果胶酶的影响,为果蔬贮藏保鲜过程中抑制软化的研究奠定理论基础。     

Blanching of Strawberries by Ohmic Heating: Effects on the Kinetics of Mass Transfer during Osmotic Dehydration

The effect of blanching by ohmic heating (OH) on the kinetics of osmotic dehydration of strawberries was studied. Ohmic heating parameters obtained at two temperatures (65 and 85 °C). The osmotic dehydration (OD) parameters are the temperature (26 and 37 °C) and the sucrose in osmotic solution (30–70 °B). An approximate solution of Fick’s law for unsteady state mass transfer in spherical configuration has been used to calculate the effective diffusion coefficients of water and sucrose. Results show that ohmic heating increases drastically the mass transfer and the effective diffusion rates. After 4 h of OD (without OH) in a sucrose solution (at 37 °C and 70 °B), the dry matter of the untreated strawberry halves was 20.3%; while it reached 68% when OD was combined with blanching by OH at 85 °C for 3-min. Ohmic blanching permits the effective damage of cells by combination of electrical and thermal effects. That result has an important enhancement of water and sugar transfers during osmotic dehydration of strawberries.     

Characterisation of reused osmotic solution as ingredient in new product formulation

Osmotic dehydration (OD) with sugar solutions has been used in fruit preservation but part of the process's economic viability depends on the possibility of reusing the osmotic solution (OS) in successive dehydration cycles. Despite the increase in water content, OD promotes OS enrichment in certain water-soluble natural components extracted from fruits, such as vitamins and minerals. For this reason, to recycle it for new food formulation seems to be an attractive alternative. In this paper, changes in soluble solids, a_w, pH, electrical conductivity, density, viscosity and colour in osmotic solution used for kiwifruit dehydration in function of the ratio osmotic solution/fruit (20:1, 10:1 and 5:1) and the number of cycles (up to 10) have been studied. Microbiological analysis of OS and fruit compositional changes were also studied. The results show that during OD likewise water interchange between fruit and OS, a flow of mineral salts and sugar from the fruit to the OS, is produced. Nevertheless OS changes associated to the OD of kiwifruit under the conditions of this study allow OS reuse for at least 10 cycles without any problems related to fruit dehydration level, colour fruit changes, or considerable microbiological contamination.