Journal of Food Engineering 110 (2012) 310316

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Journal of Food Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jfoodeng

Effect of ohmic heating and vacuum impregnation on the quality and

microbial stability of osmotically dehydrated strawberries (cv. Camarosa)
J. Moreno a,, R. Simpson b, N. Pizarro a, K. Parada a, N. Pinilla a, J.E. Reyes a, S. Almonacid b
a
b

Department of Food Engineering, Universidad del Bio-Bio, Casilla 447, Chilln, Chile
Department of Chemical Engineering and Environment, Universidad Tcnica Federico Santa Mara, Casilla 110-V, Valparaso, Chile

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Available online 29 March 2011
Keywords:
Osmotic dehydration
Ohmic heating
Electric eld
Vacuum impregnation
Microstructure
Microbiology
Strawberries

a b s t r a c t
The combined effect of osmotic dehydration/ohmic heating (ODOH) and vacuum impregnation/ohmic
heating (VIOH) on physicochemical and quality parameters of strawberry (aw, color, rmness and microstructure), as well as on microbial stability of storage samples at 5 and 10 C, was analyzed. Treatments
were carried out with a 65% (w/w) sucrose solution at 30 C, and ohmic heating at 9.2, 13, and 17 V/cm electric eld strengths, corresponding to applied voltages of 70, 100, and 130 V. Dehydrated samples showed
that water loss was greater in ODOH treatments at 17 V/cm. The greatest solute gain, least rmness loss
and least color loss were obtained in the VIOH treatment at 13 V/cm. The shelf-life of strawberries treated
with VIOH at 13 V/cm and stored at 5 C was extended from 12 d (control samples) to 25 d. Furthermore,
the VIOH treatment at 13 V/cm was the best processing condition for dehydrating strawberries.
2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Traditional processing methods used for conservation seriously
effects sensorial and nutritive values of fresh fruit. Osmotic dehydration (OD) treatment at mild temperatures preserves fresh-like
characteristics of fruits and can be used to obtain several strawberry products. OD preserves attributes, such as color, rmness
and avor, and it reduces water activity, providing high moisture
products (aw = 0.920.97) with extended shelf-life (Wiley, 1994).
Color and texture are important quality parameters in foods because consumers have increased their requirements for attractive
colors and different textures (Anzalda-Morales, 1994).
Vacuum impregnation (VI) allows an increase in the rate of
water-related weight loss and solid gain, and it introduces controlled quantities of a solution into the porous structure of fruits
and vegetables (Barat et al., 2002; Moreno et al., 2004; Deng and
Zhao, 2008). Pulsed vacuum osmotic dehydration (PVOD) has been
described as the application of subatmospheric pressure for a short
time at the beginning of the process followed by a longer OD stage
at atmospheric pressure. PVOD allows an exchange of internal gas
and liquid with an external solution through a hydrodynamic
mechanism (HDM) (Fito and Chiralt, 1997).
Mass transfer during OD occurs through semipermeable cell
membranes. The dominant resistance in the mass transfer in the
biological materials changes from partial to total permeability

Corresponding author. Tel.: +56 42 253173; fax: +56 42 253066.

E-mail address: jomoreno@ubiobio.cl (J. Moreno).
0260-8774/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2011.03.005

leading to signicant changes in tissue architecture (Aguilera and

Lillford, 2000; Rastogi et al., 2000; Quiles et al., 2004).
Two resistances oppose mass transfer during the OD of fruits as
follows: internal and external. The uid dynamics of the soliduid
interface governs the external resistance, and the internal and
much more complex resistance is inuenced by cell tissue structure, cellular membrane permeability, deformation of vegetable/
fruit pieces and the interaction between the different mass uxes
(Fito, 1994; Fito and Chiralt, 1997).
In osmotically treated fruit and vegetables, VI leads to a structural development of tissues different from those which are present in non-impregnated vegetables because of the substitution of
air by an impregnation solution (Fito et al., 2000). Electronic
microscopy techniques have been used to explain the mechanisms
for movement of solutions and their accompanying solutes in intact plant tissues (Aguilera and Lillford, 2000). Martnez-Monz
et al. (2001) observed how effective VI was in introducing solutes
into apple pores.
Ohmic heating (OH) is a thermal process in which heat is internally generated by the passage of an electrical alternating current
(AC) through a body, such as a food system that serves as an electrical resistance. In the OH processes, food components become the
elements of an electric circuit through which AC ows generating
heat in the foods based on their intrinsic properties of electrical
resistance (Salengke and Sastry, 2007; Sarang et al., 2008; Zell et
al., 2009).
Strictly speaking, our knowledge is phenomenological, as it is
based on measurements of electrical currents through planar bilayer membranes (BLM) under the inuence of strong electric

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J. Moreno et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 110 (2012) 310316

elds and on the molecular transportation of molecules into (or out

of) cells subjected to alternating electric elds (Kulshrestha and
Sastry, 2006).
For a food item consisting of a liquid-particulate mixture, heat
can be generated using OH at rates that are the same or comparable in both the liquid and particulate phases if the electrical conductivities of the two phases are equal (Sarang et al., 2008).
VI and OH pretreatment with and without the addition of citric
acid leads to profound changes in apple fruit, and the water loss
and solid gain during OD are signicantly increased when apple
tissues are pretreated with citric acid (Allali et al. 2010). The processing time of osmotically dehydrated raspberries treated with
OH at variable voltages (at 40 C and 50 C) and an electric eld
intensity less than 100 V/cm is signicantly reduced by OH. In
some cases, this reduction in time even reaches 50% (Simpson et
al., 2007).
The aim of this work was to analyze the combined effect of OH
and VI treatments on some physicochemical and quality parameters (aw, color, rmness and microstructure) in addition to the
microbial stability of osmotically dehydrated strawberries (cv.
Camarosa) stored at 5 C and 10 C.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Sample preparation
Fresh strawberries (cv. Camarosa) from Chillan (Chile) were obtained from commercial sources and were stored in a refrigerator
at 4 C. The fruits were selected according to their appearance
(ripeness, size, and color). The fruits were washed, and the peduncle was removed. Strawberries without peduncle were immersed
in a solution of 30 ppm sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) for 2 min
and washed before treatments. Thus is guaranteed which all samples present the same initial microbial count. A sucrose solution of
65 Brix was used as an osmotic solution. The solution contained
2 ppm of potassium sorbate (C6H7KO2) as a preservative and
1.13 g/L calcium chloride (CaCl2) to retain rmness and increase
conductivity.

2.2. Osmotic treatments

Osmotic Treatments at atmospheric pressure (OD) or by applying vacuum impregnation (VI) were conducted with conventional
heating and ohmic heating (OH) at 30 C. The processing time
was 180 min in the osmotic treatments (OD, VI, ODOH and VI
OH). For the VI treatments, a vacuum pulse was applied for
5 min at 50 mb at the beginning of the process. After this step,
the atmospheric pressure was restored to complete the process
time (Moreno et al., 2004). For the OH treatments, samples were
immersed in a concentric cylinder tank (3.7 cm and 19 cm in
diameter) made of stainless steel with a plastic bottom connected
to a generator by two electrodes. The osmotic solution was subject to an alternating current at 60 Hz and 70 V, 100 V and
130 V generating electrical eld strength of 9.2 V/cm, 13.0 V/cm
and 17.0 V/cm, respectively. The temperature was measured with
Teon-coated thermocouples (CPSS-116-24-PFA). An OM-420
data-logger (Omega Engineering, Stamford, USA) was employed
to simultaneously measure the temperature, voltage and current.
Temperature was controlled during the OH treatments with a
water bath to standardize the temperature, and orbital shaking
at 100 rpm (Barnstead/Lab-Line MaxQ 2000, Iowa, USA) was
employed.

2.3. Analysis of physicochemical properties

Water content (Xw) and soluble solids (Xs) were measured in
fresh and treated samples to determine the compositional changes
promoted by OD. Moisture content was determined by the technique dened by the Association of Ofcial Analytical Chemists
(AOAC, 2000). Soluble solids were determined by a digital refractometer (Leyca Mark II, Buffalo, NY, USA). All measurements were
made in triplicate, and the mean values were reported.Mass transfer parameters and changes in the water and soluble solids (DMwt
and DMs t, respectively) were calculated using the following
equations:

DM w
t

 o w

M t  X t  M o0  X w
0
Mo0

DMst

 o s

M t  X t  Mo0  X s0
o
M0

where Mot and Moo represent the sample weight at times t and 0,
respectively; and Xwt, Xst, Xwo and Xso are the water (w) and soluble
solid (s) mass fractions in a sample at times t and 0, respectively.
The skin color of the strawberries was evaluated with a Minolta
Chroma Meter CR-200 (Minolta Corp., Osaka, Japan). The instrument was calibrated with a standard white plate (L = 97.59;
a = 0.07; and b = 1.59). The CIE Lab coordinates used D65 illuminant. A glass Petri dish containing a sample was placed above a
white plate, and the L, a and b values were recorded. The measurements were made in triplicate and in three different places
on each sample, and the mean values were reported. Color differences with regard to the initial fresh samples were obtained using
the following equation:


DE DL Da Db 

1=2

Firmness of the samples was determined by texture prole

analysis (TPA) with a TA-XT2 texture analyzer (Stable Microsystems, Haslemere, UK) equipped with a cylindrical plate probe.
The press crosshead speed was set at 2 mm/s, and the maximal
sample deformation was 20%. Samples (2535 g) of halved strawberries were measured in each mechanical test. The maximal peak
force (F. max) was the mechanical parameter considered, and it
was reported as N. Measurements were carried out with 10 replicates, and mean values were reported.

2.4. Structural analyses

Structural analyses were carried out using a scanning electron
microscope (SEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM)
(Jeol JSM6380LV and Jeol JEM 12000EX-II, respectively; Oxford
Instruments, UK). The fresh and treated samples were analyzed
from the surface to the center. Sample xation was done by
immersion in glutaraldehyde (24%) for 4 h to 24 h in a 0.1 M
phosphate buffer (pH 7.27.4) at 4 C. A second xation was done
with a 1% osmium tetraoxide solution for 1 h to 2 h in a 0.1 M
phosphate buffer at 4 C. The samples were dehydrated by immersion in ethanol solutions (30%, 50%, 70%, 85%, and 95%) for 15 min
each. The samples were then immersed in pure ethanol for 20 min.
The samples were critical point dried in a dryer (Balzers-Union,
Balzers, Liechtenstein) and covered with a thin silver layer. The
samples were then vacuum-evaporated and covered with a gold
coat. The samples were examined at an acceleration voltage of
20 kV.

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J. Moreno et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 110 (2012) 310316

2.5. Microbiological analysis

All samples were analyzed for the number of mesophiles, molds
and yeasts. Ten grams of each sample were aseptically obtained
and homogenized with 90 ml of chilled maximal recovery diluent
(Oxoid, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England) in a lter stomacher
bag using a Stomacher 400 Circulator (Seward Laboratory, London,
UK) for 60 s. Further decimal dilutions were made with the same
diluent, and duplicates of at least three appropriate dilutions were
plated on appropriate media. Aerobic mesophile populations were
analyzed by incubating samples on plate count agar (Merck S.A.,
Santiago, Chile) for 72 h at 30 C, and plates with 30300 colonies
were counted. The number of molds and yeasts was determined by
incubating samples on potato dextrose agar plates (Merck S.A.,
Santiago, Chile) with chloramphenicol (500 mg/L) for 35 d at
22 C, and plates with 0 and 30 colonies were considered. Microbial
data were transformed into logarithms of the number of colonyforming units (log CFU/g). Detection limit was 10 CFU/g (1.0 log CFU/g). When no colonies were detected, an arbitrary value of 0.5
log CFU/g was assigned. The experiment was carried out in
duplicate.
2.6. Growth curve modeling
To estimate growth kinetic parameters including the shelf-life,
growth curves of the experimental data obtained were tted to
the reparameterized version of the modied Gompertz equation
as previously described (Briones et al., 2010).
2.7. Statistical analysis
Statistical analysis of the data was performed through an analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Statgraphics Plus 5.0 software
(Statgraphics 2000). The effects of the osmotic treatments with

vacuum impregnation and ohmic heating at 9.2, 13, and 17 V/cm

electric eld strengths on parameters, such as moisture, soluble
solids, color and rmness, were analyzed as factorials in a completely randomized design (2  3 factorial design) with two controls (OD and VI). The differences among mean values were
established by the least signicant difference (LSD) at 5%.
3. Results and discussion
Table 1 shows the composition (water mass fraction, Xw: soluble mass fraction, Xs: water loss; and solid gain) and water activity
(aw) of samples of fresh fruit and fruit processed by insulated or
combined treatments at 30 C. Water loss was greater in samples
treated with OH at 13 V/cm and 17 V/cm electric eld strengths,
especially in ODOH treated and VIOH treated samples. The decrease was due to the exchange of native liquid in the internal content of the plant tissue with external solution solids. This behavior
can also be explained in terms of different structural effects induced by VI and OH (Martnez-Monz et al., 2001; Deng and Zhao,
2008; Allali et al., 2010). Similarly, the solid gain was greater in VI
OH treatments at 13 V/cm and 17 V/cm eld strengths when compared to controls. The VI and VIOH treatments at 13 V/cm and
17 V/cm caused solid concentration levels to be slightly increased
when compared to ODOH treated samples. This result is consistent with the action of hydrodynamic mechanisms coupled with
diffusion osmotic phenomena, which accelerates mass transfer.
This action was reected in lower values of Xw and aw and higher
values of Xs in VIOH treated samples when compared to OD treated samples. Previous studies have shown an increase of diffusion
through foods using alternating electric elds, which makes solid
gain and water loss favorable (Kemp and Fryer, 2007). The increases in the electric eld induce an electropermeabilization effect, which promotes solid gain of osmotic solutions into tissue
pores, thus, reaching equilibrium in the sample with less water

Table 1
Composition parameters reached by the fresh and processed samples at 30 C (Processing time = 3 h). OD: osmotic dehydration at atmospheric pressure, VI: vacuum
impregnation, OH: ohmic heating (ODOH and VIOH) with different electric eld intensity (V/cm).
Treatments

Xw

Xs

DMw

DM s

aw

Fresh
OD
ODOH 9.2 V/cm
ODOH 13 V/cm
ODOH 17 V/cm
VI
VIOH 9.2 V/cm
VIOH 13 V/cm
VIOH 17 V/cm

0.896 0.026a
0.820 0.013b
0.779 0.016c
0.754 0.017c,d
0.722 0.011e
0.776 0.013c
0.782 0.011c
0.769 0.010c,d
0.768 0.013c,d

0.076 0.015a
0.149 0.005b,c
0.135 0.003b
0.148 0.005b,c
0.161 0.002c,d
0.156 0.004c
0.163 0.001d
0.210 0.001e
0.204 0.002e

0.347 0.016a
0.369 0.015a
0.434 0.019c,d
0.449 0.012d
0.403 0.011b
-0.401 0.014b
0.423 0.010c
0.420 0.019c

0.048 0.017a
0.046 0.008a
0.055 0.016a,b
0.079 0.013b,c
0.062 0.011b
0.074 0.012b,c
0.089 0.015c
0.084 0.005c

0.993 0.002a
0.989 0.001b
0.989 0.002b
0.987 0.004b,c
0.983 0.003c
0.985 0.002b,c
0.988 0.003b,c
0.984 0.003b,c
0.983 0.001c

a,b,c,d

When there are signicant differences at 5.0%, homogeneous groups in each variable, according to a LSD test, they are identied by the same superscript letter.

Table 2
Firmness and color evaluation in the fresh samples and at the end of each treatment at 30 C (Processing time = 3 h).
Treatments

Firmness1 [N]

Color2
L

Fresh
OD
OD-OH 9.2 V/cm
OD-OH 13 V/cm
OD-OH 17 V/cm
VI
VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
VI-OH 13 V/cm
VI-OH 17 V/cm
a,b,c,d
1
2

8.05 0.79
5.73 0.40c,d
5.27 0.69c
4.80 0.56b
3.20 0.41a
6.31 0.47d,e
7.26 0.78e
6.29 0.26de
5.18 0.45bc

a
a

33.36 1.14
35.15 2.42b
35.35 2.45b
39.50 1.97c
37.97 2.15c
32.72 1.71a
34.66 2.19a,b
35.37 2.29b
37.84 2.13c

b
b

25.47 1.21
28.49 2.03b,c
30.07 2.58c
28.40 1.81c
28.17 1.45c
23.23 1.37a
23.67 1.62a
25.77 1.25b
22.68 1.77a

DE
b

14.91 1.07
14.53 1.72b
15.20 1.73b,c
17.47 1.20c
15.58 1.19b,c
11.40 1.52a
12.47 1.59a
13.73 1.34a,b
14.77 1.38b

0.00 0.00
0.53 0.11b
0.26 0.13a
0.51 0.11b
0.82 0.12c
0.98 0.09c,d
1.12 0.13d
1.36 0.12e
1.62 0.16f

When there are signicant differences at 5.0%, homogeneous groups in each variable, according to a LSD test, they are identied by same superscript.
Values represent the mean and standard deviation of 10 analyses.
Values represent the mean and standard deviation of 9 analyses.

J. Moreno et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 110 (2012) 310316

loss. Dehydration by means of applying OH increases the process

yield due to the reduction in mass loss when compared to the conventional heating treatment (Allali et al., 2010). This effect may result in a greater number of cell layers affected by the osmotic
treatment at a determined overall concentration of the sample,
which is consistent with a atter water concentration prole (Fito
et al., 2001; Lombard et al., 2008; Castello et al., 2010). The atter
water concentration prole indicates that changes in the tissue induced by OH treatments, such as cell electropermeabilization,
leads to a faster mass transfer rate.
Table 2 shows the means and standard deviations of the color
CIE parameters (L, a, b) and color total difference (DE) of fresh
and processed strawberries. A reduction in lightness (L) was ob-

313

served in the VI-treated samples when compared to the fresh samples. In the samples treated with OD and OD-OH, however, small
differences were observed among L, a, and b values of different
samples. The greater total color difference with respect to fresh
fruit was obtained by VI treatments. These lower values were associated with transparency gained due to air loss, which is an effect
that is produced by the total or partial substitution of the air present in the pores by the impregnation solution (Moreno et al., 2004).
Nevertheless, the total color difference was close to one in all cases,
which implies almost non-perceptible changes. The a and b values decreased in the VI and VIOH treatments and increased in
the OD and ODOH treatments when compared to the fresh
strawberries. The greater total color differences with respect to

Fig. 1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of parenchyma tissue from fresh and treated strawberries with a 65% (w/w) sucrose solution at 30 C. (a) Fresh
control, (b) OD, (c) ODOH 17 V/cm and (d) VIOH 17 V/cm.

Fig. 2. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs of parenchyma tissue from fresh and treated strawberries with a 65% (w/w) sucrose solution at 30 C. (a) Fresh
control, (b) OD, (c) ODOH 17 V/cm and (d) VIOH 17 V/cm.

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J. Moreno et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 110 (2012) 310316

the control (OD and VI) was obtained with the ODOH and VIOH
treatments at 17 V/cm, which was caused by the increase of electric current intensity resulting in the seeds darkening and ultimately causing them to burn. When the total change of color
was evaluated with the DE parameter, small changes were associated with the OD treatments, and the greatest changes were associated with the VI treatments. Therefore, the main differences were
due to loss of clarity in accordance with the transparency gain.
The maximal force values obtained from the mechanical test
indicated that the osmotic treatments resulted in decreased rmness (Table 2). The greatest difference in rmness was observed
in samples treated at atmospheric pressure (OD) combined with
OH (ODOH). The OD treatments showed a lower force decreasing
especially in ODOH treatments at 17 V/cm. The VI and VIOH
(9.2 V/cm and 13 V/cm eld strengths) treatments did not cause
a signicant difference in rmness when compared to fresh fruit.
The application of the vacuum induces a greater rmness by
replacing the osmotic solution in pores due to air loss, thus, obtaining a more compact and less deformed tissue than that produced at
atmospheric pressure (Moreno et al., 2004). Moreover, it has been
reported that when a treatment for aw reduction is applied,
changes of texture in vegetal tissue are more dependent on phys-

ical and chemical changes due to the transformation of protopectin

to soluble pectin and to sugar diffusion in intercellular spaces,
which causes a loss of turgor and ion movement from the cell wall
to the media (Glen and Poovaiah 1990; Fito et al., 2001; Quiles
et al., 2004).
To better understand the combined effect of OD with OH and VI
at the cell level on texture characteristics, electron microscopy
(SEM and TEM) were used. Figs. 1a and 2a show the structural solids, such as cell walls and membranes. A high degree of cell compartmentalization and small intracellular spaces of fresh
strawberries were observed. Differences in microstructural effects
of the single (OD) and combined (ODOH or VIOH) treatments are
shown in Figs. 1bd and 2bd. OD-treated samples showed a great
degree of cell decompartmentalization, which was reected by the
lack of cell well and membrane denition in the micrographs when
compared to the micrographs of the well preserved cells in VIOH
treated samples. These observations agree with the mass transfer
behavior. The thickness of the middle lamellae between cells was
greater in the VIOH-treated samples when compared to the
ODOH-treated samples (Figs. 1c, 1d, and 2c, 2d). The cellular
breakage was due to the electrothermal effect. These results explain the differences in rmness values found between the two

8
Control (OD)
OD-OH 9.2 V/cm
OD-OH 13 V/cm
OD-OH 17 V/cm
Ec. pred. Control OD
Ec. pred. OD-OH 9.2 V/cm
Ec. pred. OD-OH 13 V/cm
Ec. pred. OD-OH 17 V/cm

6
5

Log CFU/g samples

Log CFU/g samples

Control (VI)
VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
VI-OH 13 V/cm
VI-OH 17 V/cm
Ec. pred. Control VI
Ec. pred VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
Ec. pred VI-OH 13 V/cm
Ec. pred VI-OH 17 V/cm

4
3
2
1

6
5
4
3
2
1

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

10

15

Storage (days)

25

30

35

40

4550

Storage (days)

Control (OD)
OD-OH 9.2 V/cm
OD-OH 13 V/cm
OD-OH 17 V/cm
Ec. pred. Control OD
Ec. pred. OD-OH 9.2 V/cm
Ec. pred. OD-OH 13 V/cm
Ec. pred. OD-OH 17 V/cm

6
5

Control (VI)
VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
VI-OH 13 V/cm
VI-OH 17 V/cm
Ec. pred. Control VI
Ec. pred VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
Ec. pred VI-OH 13 V/cm
Ec. pred VI-OH 17 V/cm

Log CFU/g samples

Log CFU/g samples

20

4
3
2
1

6
5
4
3
2
1

10

15

20

25

30

Storage (days)

35

40

45

50

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Storage (days)

Fig. 3. Growth counts for molds and yeasts in treated strawberries and stored at 5 C (a and b) and 10 C (c and d). OD: osmotic dehydration at atmospheric pressure, VI:
vacuum impregnation, OH: ohmic heating (ODOH and VIOH). Data were tted by re-parameterized version of the modied Gompertz equation.

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J. Moreno et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 110 (2012) 310316

treatments. The greater rmness observed in the VIOH-treated

samples may be explained by the presence of a polymeric material,
such as a polymeric compound or concentrated sugars, which may
have been formed by interactions of the middle lamella pectin with
the osmotic solution solutes. Moreno et al., (2000) reported a similar phenomenon in strawberries.
The initial microbial load of fresh strawberries was 103 CFU/g.
Nevertheless, after the pre-treatment with sodium hypochlorite
the microbial load was reduced at undetectable levels (<10 CFU/
g). The microbial growth (molds and yeasts, and aerobic mesophiles) in samples stored at 5 C and 10 C are shown in Figs. 3
and 4. According to the microbiological criteria recommended for
fruits, the maximal limits for molds and yeasts and aerobic mesophiles are 1  103 CFU/g for molds and yeasts and 1  105 CFU/g
for aerobic mesophiles (Minsal, 2008). Fig. 3 shows that OD-treated
samples exceeded the limit for molds and yeasts after 8 d for samples stored at 10 C and 12 d for samples stored at 5 C. VI-treated
samples exceeded the limit for molds and yeasts after 11 d for
samples stored at 10 C and 15 d for samples stored at 5 C. The

ODOH-treated samples at 17 V/cm exceeded the mold and yeast

limit after 12 d for samples stored at 10 C and 21 d for samples
stored at 5 C. VIOH-treated samples at 17 V/cm exceeded the
mold and yeast limit after 12 d for samples stored at 10 C and
26 d for samples stored at 5 C. The OD-treated samples, VI-treated
samples, ODOH-treated samples at 17 V/cm and VIOH-treated
samples at 17 V/cm exceeded the limit for aerobic mesophiles after
5, 11, 10 and 11 d, respectively, for samples stored at 10 C (Fig. 4).
The limit for aerobic mesophiles was not exceeded in any of the
samples stored at 5 C. In fruit tissue, intercellular spaces have an
important role in the penetration of microorganisms (Alzamora
et al., 2005). The antimicrobial effect of VI may be attributed to
the limitation of possible penetration by microorganisms through
the cellular spaces because the spaces are lled with concentrated
osmotic solution (Castello et al., 2009) or to a major penetration of
preservative together with osmotic solution during pulsed
vacuum.
The microbial shelf-life in osmotically dehydrated strawberry
samples stored at 5 and 10 C are shown in Table 3. In general,

6
5

Log CFU/g samples

Log CFU/g samples

Control (OD)
OD-OH 9.2 V/cm
OD-OH 13 V/cm
OD-OH 17 V/cm
Ec. pred. Control OD
Ec. pred. OD-OH 9.2 V/cm
Ec. pred. OD-OH 13 V/cm
Ec. pred. OD-OH 17 V/cm

4
3

7
6
5
4
3

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Control (VI)
VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
VI-OH 13 V/cm
VI-OH 17 V/cm
Ec. pred. Control VI
Ec. pred VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
Ec. pred VI-OH 13 V/cm
Ec. pred VI-OH 17 V/cm

50

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Storage (days)

Storage (days)

8
8

5
4
Control (OD)
OD-OH 9.2 V/cm
OD-OH 13 V/cm
OD-OH 17 V/cm
Ec. pred. Control OD
Ec. pred. OD-OH 9.2 V/cm
Ec. pred. OD-OH 13 V/cm
Ec. pred. OD-OH 17 V/cm

3
2
1
0

Log CFU/g samples

Log CFU/g samples

6
5
4
Control (VI)
VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
VI-OH 13 V/cm
VI-OH 17 V/cm
Ec. pred. Control VI
Ec. pred VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
Ec. pred VI-OH 13 V/cm
Ec. pred VI-OH 17 V/cm

3
2
1
0

10

15

20

25

30

Storage (days)

35

40

45

50

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Storage (days)

Fig. 4. Growth counts for aerobic mesophiles in treated strawberries and stored at 5 C (a and b) and 10 C (c and d). OD: osmotic dehydration at atmospheric pressure, VI:
vacuum impregnation, OH: ohmic heating (ODOH and VIOH). Data were tted by re-parameterized version of the modied Gompertz equation.

316

J. Moreno et al. / Journal of Food Engineering 110 (2012) 310316

Table 3
Effect of the combined treatments at 30 C on the shelf life of osmotically dehydrated
strawberries stored at 5 C and 10 C. OD: osmotic dehydration at atmospheric
pressure, VI: vacuum impregnation, OH: ohmic heating (OD-OH and VI-OH) with
different electric eld intensity (V/cm).
Treatments

Storage
Temperature
(C)

OD (control 1)
ODOH 9.2 V/cm
ODOH 13 V/cm
ODOH 17 V/cm
VI (control 2)
VIOH 9.2 V/cm
VIOH 13 V/cm
VIOH 17 V/cm
OD (control 1)
ODOH 9.2 V/cm
ODOH 13 V/cm
ODOH 17 V/cm
VI (control 2)
VI-OH 9.2 V/cm
VIOH 13 V/cm
VIOH 17 V/cm

5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

Molds and
yeasts
SL (days)

Aerobic
mesophiles
SL (days)

12.89 1.28
16.27 1.70
18.76 1.87
21.65 1.79
15.05 2.69
21.37 3.00
25.15 2.38
26.31 3.85
8.99 1.08
10.12 1.39
11.38 1.61
12.59 0.79
11.29 1.19
11.69 1.60
11.83 0.97
12.80 0.48

>3 weeks
>3 weeks
>3 weeks
>3 weeks
>3 weeks
>3 weeks
>3 weeks
>3 weeks
5.50 048
6.98 0.64
9.34 0.53
10.05 1.49
5.79 0.69
8.47 0.44
9.59 0.75
11.86 1.20

SL: Shelf-life (days), mean values with standard deviation.

the combined (ODOH and VIOH) treatments caused a decrease

in the number of microorganisms and an extended shelf-life. On
the other hand, increases in the current intensity (volt) had the
most effect on microorganisms. The refrigeration temperatures
during storage also led to extended shelf-life. VIOH treatments
at 13 V/cm and 17 V/cm electric eld strengths were the most
effective treatments in inhibiting molds and yeasts and mesophiles, especially combined with storage at 5 C. The shelf-life of
osmotically dehydrated strawberries at 5 C was extended from
12 d (control samples) to 25 d.
4. Conclusions
The results of this study indicate that the combination of OH
and VI accelerates mass transfer in strawberry samples. The greatest water loss and smallest color loss were observed in the ODOH
treatment at 17 V/cm. The largest amount of solute gain and smallest loss of rmness was obtained with the VIOH at 13 V/cm. However, a large loss of rmness with the osmotic treatments was
obtained with the ODOH treatment at 17 V/cm. The microstructure of the strawberries showed that the ODOH treatment caused
a great degree of cell decompartmentalization, which was reected
by the membrane and cell wall damage and increased cellular
breaking resulting from the electrothermal effect. The VIOH treatment increased the thickness of the middle lamellae. Under the
studied conditions, the VIOH treatments at 13 V/cm and 17 V/
cm electric eld strengths were the most effective treatments for
inhibiting molds and yeasts and mesophiles, especially when the
samples were stored at 5 C. The shelf-life of osmotically dehydrated strawberries at 5 C was extended from 12 d (control samples) to 25 d. Therefore, our data suggest that the VIOH treatment
at 13 V/cm is the optimal processing condition for dehydrating
strawberries in a sucrose solution at 65Brix at 30 C.
Acknowledgement
Authors Jorge Moreno and Ricardo Simpson are grateful for the
nancial support provided by CONICYT through FONDECYT project
number 1090628.

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