Nondestructive Freshness Evaluation of Spinach Leaves under Low Oxygen Storage Using Visible and Near Infrared Spectroscopy

The objective of this study was to develop a nondestructive technology for evaluating freshness in fruits and vegetables through nondestructive measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA) equivalent using visible and near infrared (VIS-NIR) spectroscopy. In this study, the behaviour of MDA equivalent of spinach leaves under low oxygen storage was investigated, and a multivariate calibration model of MDA equivalent was constructed using VIS-NIR diffuse reflectance spectra with a methodology of chemometrics. Low oxygen storage reduced significantly the peroxidation of lipid in spinach leaves after harvest. VIS-NIR spectroscopy with partial least square regression (PLSR) allowed constructing a prediction model for MDA equivalent in the leaves with sufficient accuracy.