Suitability of some mid-season table grape cultivars and types for minimally processed produce

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Aims</strong>: The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether some midseason table grape cultivars and types can be used as minimally processed produce and to investigate the negative effects of minimal processing on the quality of the table grapes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Methods and results</strong>: Changes in quality losses as defects, weight loss, soluble solids, titratable acidity and pH by minimally processed 13 cultivars and 4 types were recorded during a 10-day storage period at 4 °C. Browning on the stem end was the major defect followed by collapse on the stem end, decay both on the stem end and on the berry surface, and splitting on the berry surface. Big Perlon, Hatun Parmagi and Ribol among the cultivars/types were found be less prone to defects after minimal processing and storing at 4 °C.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conclusion</strong>: The defects or problems which minimally processed table grapes most likely to face are collapse, browning and decay on the stem end, and splitting and decay on the berry surface. The quality losses in Big Perlon, Hatun Parmagi and Ribol cultivars with a very large berry size were lower than other 14 cultivars/types after 10 days, suggesting that berry size is very important attribute for choosing table grape cultivars as minimally processed produce.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Significance and impact of study</strong>: The study involving 13 cultivars and 4 types with different colored skin, berry sizes and types presents reliable information of suitability of the grapes for fresh-cut produce. Furthermore, the quality assessment used for this study provides a very detailed clarification what kind of problems minimally processed table grapes might face.</p>