Improvement in shelf life of minimally processed cilantro leaves through integration of kinetin pretreatment and packaging interventions: Studies on microbial population dynamics, biochemical characteristics and flavour retention

•Method to extend shelf life of minimally processed cilantro (MPCL) until 21 days.•Optimized combination of pretreatment and packaging helped retaining antioxidants.•Pectinolyser population could be regarded as microbial spoilage indicator for MPCL.•(E)-2-undecenal, (E)-2-hexadecenal & (E)-2-tetradecenal indicate freshness in MPCL.

Effect of integrating optimized combination of pretreatment with packaging on shelf life of minimally processed cilantro leaves (MPCL) was appraised through analysis of their sensory attributes, biochemical characteristics, microbial population and flavour profile during storage. Minimally pretreated cilantro leaves pretreated with 50 ppm kinetin and packed in 25 μ polypropylene bags showed a shelf life of 21 days. Optimized combination helped in efficiently maintaining sensory parameters, flavour profile, and retention of antioxidants in MPCL until 21 days. Studies conducted on the effect of optimized combination on microbial population and flavour profile revealed that among different microorganisms, pectinolysers had a significant effect on spoilage of MPCL and their population of ⩽3.59 log cfu/g was found to be acceptable. Principal component analysis of headspace volatiles revealed that (E)-2-undecenal, (E)-2-hexadecenal, (E)-2-tetradecenal & (E)-2-tetradecen-1-ol in stored samples clustered with fresh samples and therefore, could be considered as freshness indicators for MPCL.