Development of a radiation process for some Indian fruits: mangoes and sapodillas

Abstract

A combination heat-radiation process has been evolved for sterilizing mango and sapodilla slices in cans. The fruit, after peeling and slicing, is packed in sanitary cans with sucrose syrup, and the respiratory enzymes are inactivated by heating for 10 min at 70°C. The cans are next evacuated for 6 min at a vacuum of 28 inches Hg, vacuum doubled-seamed, and irradiated with a total dose of 4 × 10⁵ rads at room temperature. Organoleptic evaluation, vitamin retention, and sterility tests show that these processing conditions are optimum and give an acceptable product. Canned mangoes showed progressively lower acceptability with radiation doses above 4 × 10⁵ rads, compared with the thermally processed product. Sapodillas, on the other hand, did not show appreeiable deterioration up to 1.2 × 10⁶ rads.