Development of predictive models for shelf-life of sweet cherry under different storage temperatures
Wenming Xing, Wenli Liu, Huamin Li, Xiangquan Zeng, Xinguang Fang, Shaohua Xing, Hansheng Gong
Abstract
Purpose of this study was to develop and test the applicability of predictive models for shelf-life estimation of sweet cherries at different storage temperature conditions in food supply chain. Sweet cherries were stored at different temperatures 0, 4, 10, 20 and 30 °C and then quality indices were analyzed. The results showed that weight loss and total color difference (TCD) increased gradually during storage. Conversely there was a gradual decrease in hardness, titratable acidity (TA), anthocyanin content and malondialdehyde (MDA). The change of weight loss, hardness and MDA were fitted well by the zero-order reaction kinetic model and the change of TA and anthocyanin content were fitted well by the first-order reaction kinetic model. Additionally, the temperature-dependent reaction rate was assessed by the Arrhenius model, which showed better performance (all R 2 >0.9400). The shelf-life prediction models combining reaction kinetic model with Arrhenius model could be used for the prediction of shelf-life of sweet cherry from 0 to 30 °C. The verification showed that the shelf-life prediction model of weight loss and TA were more accurate than hardness, anthocyanin content and MDA. These models will offer an important reference for determining quality loss and calculating remaining shelf-life of sweet cherries. • Quality of sweet cherries was greatly affected by storage temperatures. • Shelf-life prediction model of weight loss and TA were more accurate. • Shelf-life of sweet cherry could be simply predicted based on the prediction model.