Effect of Pulsed Light on Quality of Shelled Walnuts
Vicente Manuel Gómez-López,
Luis Noguera-Artiaga,
Fernando Figueroa-Morales,
Francisco Girón,
Ángel Antonio Carbonell-Barrachina,
José Antonio Gabaldón,
Antonio Jose Pérez-López
Affiliations
Vicente Manuel Gómez-López
Catedra Alimentos para la Salud, Campus de los Jerónimos, Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), 30107 Murcia, Spain
Luis Noguera-Artiaga
Research Group “Food Quality and Safety”, Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), Carretera de Beniel km 3.2, 03312 Orihuela, Spain
Fernando Figueroa-Morales
Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Catholic University of San Antonio, Campus de los Jerónimos s/n, Guadalupe, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Francisco Girón
Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Catholic University of San Antonio, Campus de los Jerónimos s/n, Guadalupe, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Ángel Antonio Carbonell-Barrachina
Research Group “Food Quality and Safety”, Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), Carretera de Beniel km 3.2, 03312 Orihuela, Spain
José Antonio Gabaldón
Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Catholic University of San Antonio, Campus de los Jerónimos s/n, Guadalupe, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Antonio Jose Pérez-López
Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Catholic University of San Antonio, Campus de los Jerónimos s/n, Guadalupe, 30107 Murcia, Spain
Shelled walnuts are considered a microbiologically low-risk food but have been linked to some outbreaks, and a treatment aiming to decrease this risk is desirable. Pulsed light (PL) may be an alternative, providing it does not seriously impair their quality. This work assessed the impact of PL on some quality attributes of walnuts. To do this, measurements of rancidity, volatiles, total phenols, antioxidant activity, and descriptive sensory analysis were carried out on untreated and PL (43 J/cm2)-treated kernels. PL had no statistically significant (p > 0.05) effects on TBARS, peroxide value, total phenols, and antioxidant activity but significantly increased the concentration of volatiles related to green/herbaceous odors and decreased compounds related to fruity and citrus odors. The descriptors nut overall, walnut odor and flavor, and aftertaste were given statistically significantly (p p > 0.05) effects on total phenols and antioxidant activity in general were observed during the course of PL treatment. It can be concluded that PL technology may be used in shelled walnuts with only mild effects on their quality; a storage study must be carried out in order to determine the effect of PL treatment on its shelf-life.
