Kinetics of quality changes in cantaloupe melon as affected by MAP and temperature conditions

Introduction: Fresh-cut fruit quality and shelf-life are limited by minimal processing operations and storage conditions. Modified atmosphere packaging and refrigerated storage are frequently used to reduce the respiration rate without negatively affecting the physiology of the fruit and to enhance shelf life. The effects of the production process upon the nutritional and phytochemical composition of cantaloupe melon was determined in order to validate the results obtained in real conditions and identify the critical points involved in the deterioration of the functional quality. The aim of this work is determine the kinetics of quality changes of fresh-cut cantaloupe melon as a function of oxygen partial pressure and storage temperature. Conclusions: The integration of all these results contributes to the understanding of the effects of storage conditions on overall quality of fresh-cut cantaloupe melon and provide useful information for developing processes aimed at the prediction and modulation of nutritional quality and shelf-life. The best conditions found for the preservation of overall quality of fresh-cut cantaloupe melon are initial package atmosphere of 5 % oxygen and storage temperature of 5 ºC.