Influence of pre-treatments, packaging and storage temperature on shelf life, physico-chemical and microbial quality of minimally processed tender jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.)

Despite being the largest fruit in the world, huge quantities of jackfruit are wasted in almost all jackfruit-growing countries. Post-harvest handling and market gluts are some of the bottlenecks posing challenges in the value chain. Tender jackfruit is widely consumed for its culinary applications to prepare various dishes owing to the meat like texture. About 60 % of tender jackfruit is comprised of inedible portions. When minimally processed, it becomes 100 % edible, adds convenience and can be prepared and consumed in less time. The present study evaluated the impact of antioxidants ascorbic and citric acids in combination with the antimicrobial compound sodium benzoate, packaging of the product in LDPE and PP over-wrapped with cling film, followed by storage at ambient and low temperatures. The pretreatments and packaging materials effectively prolonged the shelf life of minimally processed jackfruit by up to nine days when stored at low temperatures. The protocol adopted was effective in quality maintenance in terms of PLW, ascorbic acid, total carbohydrates, total phenols and retarded proliferation of bacteria, mould and yeast. E.coli and Staphylococcus aureus could not be detected throughout the storage period.