Effect of Different Storage Temperatures on Quality Changes of Ready-to-Eat Fresh-cut Fruit Trays

Abstract

: Objective: To ensure the storage quality and food safety of ready-to-eat fresh-cut fruits trays, the growth changes of microbial hygiene indicator bacteria (colony count, coliform, mold yeast) in ready-to-eat fresh-cut fruit trays under different temperature conditions were analyzed to assess their food safety risks and to seek the optimal storage time. Methods: The tropical fruits (dragon fruit, mango, papaya, watermelon, sainfoin) were washed, peeled and cut into pieces to produce ready-to-eat fresh-cut fruit trays, which were stored at different temperatures (6°C, 10°C and 15°C), sampled regularly to detect the number of microbial indicators and plotted the growth curves using the national standards for food microbiological testing. Results: It showed that under the storage environment of 6°C, the growth trend of microbial hygiene indicators was not obvious, the contamination level was low, the sensory changes were small, the preservation effect was good, and the