Effects of Ultrasonication and Modified Atmosphere Packaging on the Physicochemical Characteristics and Quality of Ready-to-Eat Pomegranate Arils

Abstract

The demand for ready-to-eat pomegranate arils has increased due to the high nutritional value and quality of this valuable fruit. However, the shelf life of arils is short. Therefore, we examined the effect of ultrasonication treatment (35 kHz power) for varying times (5, 10, and 15 min) at 25 °C, and their combination with different packaging types, i.e., vacuum and passive modified atmosphere packaging (passive MAP), on the physical, chemical, and sensory properties of pomegranate arils. The results showed that the combined treatment of ultrasonic and vacuum packaging leads to improving pomegranate arils’ quality and shelf life. The treatments significantly reduced weight loss (30%) and decay (16%) compared to the control. At the end of the storage time, the lowest bacterial count (0.25 log CFU/g) and the lowest yeast and mold count (0.37 log CFU/g) were obtained in ultrasound-treated arils for 15 min that were vacuum packed. In addition, they preserved the total soluble solids, titratable acidity, antioxidant capacity, phenolic compounds, and anthocyanin, leading to improving the organoleptic properties of arils. However, in terms of taste and overall quality, greater scores were recorded by panelists in vacuum-packed arils than in passive MAP. Overall, arils that were treated with ultrasound for 10 min and then vacuum packed had the best results compared to the control and other combination treatments.