Effect of gamma irradiation dose on strawberry preservation

Abstract

Strawberries are well-known to people all over the world for their distinct flavor and nutritional value. Preserving strawberries and extending its shelf life has been a huge challenge due to its perishable nature. To reduce spoilage of strawberries during storage, farmers around the world usually use synthetic chemicals to minimize such losses and extend storage time. However, chemical treatments can have harmful health risks. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation doses ranging from 0 Gy to 1,600 Gy on the shelf life, microbial inactivation, weight loss, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity, and pH value of strawberries stored at room temperature. In this research, 60Co isotope source was used to evaluate the effect of gamma-irradiation on the physicochemical properties of strawberries for a maximum period of 15 days. Strawberries were exposed to gamma irradiation at dose levels of 200 Gy, 400 Gy, 600 Gy, 800 Gy, 900 Gy, 1,000 Gy, 1,100 Gy, 1,200 Gy, 1,400 Gy, and 1,600 Gy for the treatment of strawberry berries that are an agricultural product of Dalat city. The results show that strawberry berries irradiated with 1,000 Gy had significantly prolonged storage life of 12 days when compared to non-irradiated strawberry (3 days). Non-irradiated strawberry samples showed maximum decay of 70%, and weight loss of 15.2% at only the 6th day of storage. The storage time and gamma irradiation dose also had a significant effect on the titratable acidity and pH of the strawberries. Results showed that radiation doses of 1,000 Gy might be used as consumer- acceptable doses for shelf life extension, minimum weight loss and decay, without affecting the chemical quality of strawberry.