Contents lists available at ScienceDirect LWT - Food Science and Technology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lwt Quality evaluation of minimally fresh-cut processed pineapples Miguel Padrón-Mederos a , Beatriz Rodríguez-Galdón a , Carlos Díaz-Romero a , M. Gloria Lobo-Rodrigo b , Elena M. Rodríguez-Rodríguez a,* a Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Tecnología Farmacéutica, Universidad de La Laguna, Spain b Departamento de Producción Vegetal en Zonas Tropicales y Subtropicales, Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agrarias, Tenerife, Spain ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Fresh pineapple Minimally processed Storage Physicochemical parameters Sensory and microbiological quality ABSTRACT Physicochemical, sensory and microbiological quality parameters were determined in fresh-cut pineapple pro- ducts. Containers with fresh-cut pineapple in cylinders or in chunks were considered and the above parameters were studied over ten days of storage at 5 ± 1 °C. Chromatic parameters presented differences between both formats, with the cylinders being more susceptible to browning. Besides, the cylinders had lower levels of acidity, texture and ascorbic acid, while in general, greater changes of the main quality physicochemical characteristics were observed in the ring format during the ten days of refrigerated storage. Liquid exudate increased, sucrose content decreased and a greater tendency to browning were observed during the cold storage at 5 ± 1 °C. Sensory characteristics and microbiological control for both types of format showed a positive evaluation after eight days of storage at 5 ± 1 °C. Mesophile, psychrophile, mold and yeast loads in both pineapple formats were relatively low (< 10 6 CFU/g after 10 days under 5 °C for all the microbiological loads) throughout their useful shelf-life, taking into account that both formats were packed in trays in normal atmo- sphere without chemical treatment or any additives. 1. Introduction Pineapple is a tropical fruit that is consumed both for its pleasant taste and for its important health-promoting properties. Consumer de- mand is for minimally processed fresh-cut fruits with an optimum de- gree of maturity, free from defects, and with a high organoleptic and nutritional quality, together with guaranteed hygienic safety (Chonhenchob, Chantarasomboon, & Singh, 2007; Gil, Aguayo, & Kader, 2006). However, quality retention of these food products con- tinues to be challenge. Scientificefforts must be carried out to find out the precise mechanisms and dynamics of deterioration. There are a lot of factors influencing the deterioration of minimally processed fresh-cut fruits, including type of fruit, cultivar, geographic origin, ripeness, cut size, packaging material, storage temperature and time (Chonhenchob et al., 2007; Finnegan & O’Beirne, 2015a; b). Minimally processed horticultural products consists of at least the following stages: washing of the whole product, elimination of inedible parts, chopping, washing and sanitizing. After processing, they are packed in sealed bags or trays with a plastic cover, with or without a modified atmosphere, to be stored and transported in refrigerated conditions. These products are ready to consume and have similar characteristics to fresh products as well as a useful life of between seven to ten days. Tropical pineapple cultivation is one of the most important sources of income for the primary sector on the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands, Spain). The “Spanish Red” variety was used in the present study, due to its adaptation to the edaphoclimatic conditions of the Canary Islands. Besides, the Canary consumers are well adapted to its high acidity. In the study, physicochemical, sensory and micro- biological quality parameters were determined in minimally processed tropical pineapples of the “Red Spanish” variety packed in two types of commercial formats (cylinders and chunks). The study is of particular interest from a commercial point of view, since the two types of cut (cylinders and chunks) were first performed in the industry and not as a pilot laboratory project where hygienic and production conditions are usually more controlled. The results obtained may provide useful and valuable information regarding the storage of these products with the aim of increasing its market value. In addition, the present study can serve as a point of support for subsequent evaluations of different po- tential pineapple varieties which can be grown in the Canary Islands. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2020.109607 Received 10 December 2019; Received in revised form 25 March 2020; Accepted 13 May 2020 * Corresponding author. E-mail address: emrguez@ull.es (E.M. Rodríguez-Rodríguez). LWT - Food Science and Technology 129 (2020) 109607 Available online 14 May 2020 0023-6438/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. T