Effects of anti-UV film and protective atmosphere on fresh-cut iceberg lettuce preservation

The aim of this research was to study the shelf-life of fresh-cut iceberg lettuce, testing a packaging fi lm manufactured with and without addition of anti-UV compounds, and using two different protective atmospheres (N2/CO2 70/30% and Ar/CO2 80/20%). In order to simulate the most common retail storage conditions, the samples were stored at 6 °C under artifi cial light by using real supermarket refrigerated exposition stands. The data obtained showed that the use of an anti-UV fi lm always causes a lower quality decay of the product; in any case, the best results were obtained when the anti-UV fi lm was utilized in association with the packaging atmosphere consisting of Ar and CO2 (80/20%) gas mixture.