Abstract: Pomegranate arils are rich in vitamin-C, anti-oxidants and polyphenols such as tannins and
anthocyanins and hence considered good for health with anti-cancer properties. Pomegranate
fruit is a non-climacteric fruit with relatively low respiration rate and produces trace amounts of
ethylene. Generally, fruit has a long storage life ranging. However, the arils removed from fruits
have short storage life owing to exposure to outer environment and tissue damage resulting from
processing operations. Damage to arils, infact, leads to increase in rate of respiration and
ethylene production rates, alters metabolic activity, increases the rate of deterioration of
nutritional and sensory attributes and notably reduces the shelf-life. In order to meet the
consumers present demand for fresh, convenient and high quality ready-to-eat arils, various
processing techniques have been developed among which, modified atmosphere packaging along
with low temperature storage are being increasingly employed to extend the shelf life of arils. |