PRODUCTION OF HIGH QUALITY WHOLE "CHERRY TOMATO" BY MEANS OF HIGH PRESSURE TREATMENT

However, as several studies have shown, HPP (200-600 MPa) alone is not always enough to preserve a food because of its limited ability to inactivate enzymatic components.

In this work the authors show that, through an optimisation of the processing line not only solve the problem but also profitably yields a very high quality product.

In the case of the "cherry tomato" the main quality properties are the integrity, freshness and consistency of the fruit; i.e. the very important sensory properties leaking in the traditional, soften and cracked heat-treated product available today.

Using HPP it was possible to achieve commercial stability of the preserved product under refrigerated conditions and simultaneously, a higher quality than the traditional heat pasteurised product has.

This study shows that High Pressure Processing, suitably applied in an optimised processing line, can be a good alternative to the traditional processing technology to obtain high-quality extra-fresh tomato products.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files)