ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Roheena Abdullah , Maryam Akbar, Hina Qaiser, Adeen Farooq, Mehwish Iqtedar, Afshan Kaleem, Mahwish Aftab and Shagufta Naz
1Department of Biotechnology Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan.
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2015;9(Spl. Edn. 1):265-271
© The Author(s). 2015
Received: 25/03/2015 | Accepted: 16/05/2015 | Published: 31/05/2015
Abstract

The effects of gamma irradiation on the microbial content and sensory attributes of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) were analyzed. Fresh fruits harbor high contaminating microflora influencing its quality and mean life. Irradiation (1.0, 1.5, 2.0 kGy) as cold pasteurization followed by storage under refrigerated conditions have been employed to ensure the microbial safety and extend the shelf life of tomatoes. In this study radiation dose of 2.0 kGy worked remarkably well to reduce both the bacterial as well as mold and yeast counts while preserving the sensory qualities for the longest duration of time when compared to other treatments. The shelf life of samples exposed to 2.0 kGy was extended to 21 days at 4° C against only 14 days for control samples.

Keywords

Microflora, Tomato, Radiation, Shelf Life

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© The Author(s) 2015. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, sharing, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.