Development of innovative preservation technology of vegetables and fruit by dehydration pretreatment

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K15010
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Agricultural environmental engineering/Agricultural information engineering
• Research Institution: Iwate University
• Principal Investigator: Koide Shoji 岩手大学, 農学部, 教授 (70292175)
• Research Collaborator: UEMURA Matsuo ; KAWAMURA Yukio ; ORIKASA Takahiro
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 脱水 / 氷点下保存 / 過冷却 / 電気インピーダンス / 細胞活性 / 復水

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We considered a hypothesis that fresh-cut vegetable or fruit (FVF), which was pretreated by dehydration, can be capable to preserve long-time with keeping aliveness under subzero temperature. In order to verify above hypothesis, the following measurements were performed: establishment of evaluation method on survivability of FVF, consideration of dehydration method and rehydration method of FVF for keeping its aliveness, experiment of survivability of dehydrated FVF subjected to subzero temperature. Results showed that survivability of FVF could be evaluated by both electric impedance spectroscopy and TTC reduction, and there was a survivability of FVF which was subjected to dehydration, preservation, and rehydration. It was also found that FVF with or without dehydration can be cryopreserved as supercooling state, with keeping its survivability.

Free Research Field

農産物保蔵学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

カット青果物の生存性を何らかの指標で表現できれば、冷凍・解凍後の青果物や食品の品質・鮮度の評価に資する知見を与える。本研究は、カット青果物の脱水処理後および氷点下保存後の生存性を電気的かつ生理学的に定量的に評価する手法を確立できた点に実用性がある。また、本研究は青果物試料を生きたまま過冷却状態で氷点下保存できることが可能であることを科学的に示したもので、これは先駆的な研究を含めてはじめてのことであり学術的意義は大きい。また本研究は生鮮青果物を氷点下で長期保存できる可能性を示唆するものであり、今後の革新的青果物保存の実現が期待できる。