Influence of aqueous ozonation on physicochemical properties and incidence of phytopathogens in minimally processed strawberries

Minimally processed strawberries are perishable and susceptible to the development of pathogenic agents, making their post-harvest life limited. Thus, sanitization is a crucial step to ensure the quality of this produce. The objective was to evaluate the effect of treatment with ozone gas dissolved in water on the physicochemical properties and the incidence of pathogens in minimally processed strawberries stored under refrigeration. After minimal processing, “Camino Real” strawberries were submitted to five different treatments: immersion in ozonated water (OW) at three different concentrations (0.2; 0.5; and 1.0 mg L-1) at 10 ºC for 5 min; chlorine sanitization (Sumaveg®) in two steps, at 150 mg L-1 and 5 mg L-1, at 10 ºC for 10 min. The control treatment corresponded to fruits without sanitation. After the treatments, the fruits were stored under refrigeration at 5 ºC and 90% RH and evaluated for 12 days regarding postharvest quality (physical, physicochemical and biochemical), as well as the incidence of diseased fruits (%). The results showed that the sanitization of fruits with ozonized water, regardless of the concentration, favored the quality and health of strawberries during storage compared to fruits subjected to sanitization with chlorinated water and control fruits. Ozonated water treatment is an alternative to traditional sanitization with chlorine, maintaining the physicochemical quality of the minimally processed “Camino Real” strawberries stored under refrigeration.