Surface decontamination of fresh-cut apple by pulsed light: Effects on structure, colour and sensory properties

•Pulsed light allowed surface decontamination of fresh-cut apple slices.•Low intensity pulsed light (17.5 kJ/m2) did not affect the fresh appearance of apple slices.•Pulsed light beyond 17.5 kJ/m2 resulted in dehydration, browning and flavour depletion.

The effect of pulsed light at increasing fluence (17.5, 52.5, 105.0 and 157.5 kJ/m2) was studied with reference to germicidal efficiency and changes in fresh-like appearance of sliced apple. Independent of fluence, viable counts and inoculated bacteria were reduced by 1 and 3 logs respectively. Fluence significantly affected weight loss, colour and sensory attributes of apple slices during storage at 6 °C. Pulsed light at 17.5 kJ/m2 resulted in apple slices comparable to the untreated samples, with limited quality changes. By contrast, at higher fluence, apple slices underwent dehydration and browning due to loss of cell integrity. Exposure to high fluence treatments was also associated with negative changes in the flavour profile of sliced apple during storage.