Evaluating the effect of storage conditions on the shelf life of cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.)

- An integral approach to estimate shelf life in fresh foods involves survival analysis.
- Best temperature to store cape gooseberry s 8 °C, either with or without calyx.
- Fruit last more with the calyx (62 days) than without it (33 days).
- Consumer rejection was caused by the general appearance of the fruit.
- At the end of shelf-life, there are relevant contents of vitamin C and β-carotene.

Cape gooseberry is the fruit of the plant Physalis peruviana L. and has gained commercial and scientific interest for its contents of health-promoting compounds. An integral approach to estimate shelf life of cape gooseberry was conducted taking into account physicochemical, microbiological and nutritional changes and consumer acceptance. The experiments were performed for 5 independent harvest times during two years (2014-2015). The conditions of storage were temperatures of 4, 8 and 12 °C and a relative humidity of 80%. Fruit with (Y) and without calyx (N) were packed into polyethylene terephthalate (PET) trays and polypropylene (PP) baskets, respectively. The experiment was conducted for a total of 76 d or shorter when the fruit was spoilt earlier. Fruit with the calyx showed a longer shelf life, while 8 °C was the temperature that gave longer shelf lives irrespective of the calyx presence. The critical quality attribute of shelf life without calyx was fungal growth, which determined consumer acceptance; weight loss was the most critical quality attribute for the fruit with calyx. Studying various quality attributes in an integral way appeared to give a better understanding of the shelf life.