Influenza di imballaggi commerciali sulla shelf-life e sulla qualità dei pomodorini cherry (CV Shiren)

In Italy tomatoes represent a very important segment of the fruit and vegetable production and among the different varieties cherry tomatoes are of increasing economic importance. Nowadays, thanks to the improved agronomic techniques, cherry tomatoes can be found on the markets throughout the year and consumers are showing an increasing preference for this kind of product. Furthermore, there is also an increasing scientific interest for the consumption of tomatoes, due to their content in antioxidants moieties (carotenoids, phenols, ascorbic acid, etc.), among which lycopene is of the utmost importance, also because its anticarcinogenic properties. At present, a significant amount of the Italian production of cherry tomatoes is sold in foreign countries, often quite far away from the production sites; therefore, an adequate shelf-life of the product is needed, in order to reach the markets with no or minimal changes of the organoleptic characteristics. In this work, the influence of various commercial types of packaging on the shelf-life of cherry tomatoes was investigated. Shelf-life tests were conducted at 7° and 15°C (90% R.H.) using 4 types of commercial PP boxes and 2 films, all available on the market, and the influence of the different packagings on the tomato quality was assessed taking into account chemical, physical and microbiological parameters such as carotenoids and vitamin C content, °Brix, acidity, pH, color, presence of yeasts and moulds.