The use of vacuum technology to improve

processed fruit and vegetables

 Introduction: the role of vacuum technolog

It is well established that processing treatments for fruits and vegetables
that are designed to preserve them in various forms (fresh, frozen,
pasteurised or dried), have an effect on organoleptic qualities such as
texture, colour or flavour. In reducing problems caused by deterioration
that occur after harvest or during processing, there is a choice between:
• selecting more resistant varieties of raw material,
• adding corrective additives in the final preparation, OR
• implementing ‘minimal’ physical treatments or novel technologies. One
of these new technologies contributing to the preservation of the original
properties of fruit or vegetables is ‘vacuum technology’, which is also called
‘vacuum infusion’ or ‘vacuum impregnation’. Vacuum technology is
considered to be a pretreatment for processed fruit or vegetables leading
to improvement in their quality by active incorporation of functional
ingredients in the product structure.

Principles: mass transfer and product behavior

Mass transfer:
The most complete description of the mass transfer phenomena occurring during
vacuum infusion is generally found in studies dealing with mass exchange in the
osmotic dehydration of fruit pieces immersed in concentrated solutions. These
two techniques, vacuum application and prolonged immersion of plant products
in hypertonic solutions, can be easily coupled (Shi and Fito, 1994; Shi et al., 1995).
Without encroaching on the specific field of osmotic dehydration, it seems very
important to underline the close link which can exist between the two
techniques. In these soaking processes, the use of vacuum forces accelerates the
penetration of aqueous solution compared with the apparently slow molecular
The use of vacuum technology to improve
processed fruit and vegetables

diffusion process that is predominant in the osmotic process. When a vacuum

pulse is applied, trapped gases are expanded and partially removed from the food
matrix. The time taken to reach a vacuum usually depends on the efficiency of the
vacuum system (pump, closed volume of apparatus, etc.) and only lasts at best for
a few seconds. In most cases, products have to be maintained under vacuum for a
few minutes to ensure good extraction of internal gases release is generally. Fito
and Pastor (1994) and Fito (1994) gave a clear description of the mass transfer
phenomena observed in vacuum technology. The mass transfer occurring during
the vacuum treatment is referred to as the ‘hydrodynamic mechanism’ (HDM

 Modifications to structural and physical properties

Several authors reported that the HDM mechanism is accompanied by
deformation of the food matrix which influences the final liquid uptake and
affects the mechanical properties of the product after treatment. The
deformation phenomenon corresponds first to an extension of the internal
occluded air volume inside the product when degassing at the time the vacuum is
created, and secondly to a partial retraction in pore volume caused by structure
relaxation at the time of return to atmospheric pressure.

The increase in thermal conductivity is consequently proportional to the fruit

porosity, the quantity of transferred solution and the osmotic pressure of the
solution. The specific heat was not modified in the case of isotonic solutions
whereas thermal diffusivity only increased slightly (2–4% higher). In addition,
when the concentration of the impregnating solution increased and became
hypertonic, the increase of conductivity and diffusivity values was less significant
because the aqueous fraction tended to decrease in the product.

The use of vacuum technology was proposed as a pretreatment in many

processings and product applications: post-harvest storage, frozen fruits or
The use of vacuum technology to improve
processed fruit and vegetables

vegetables, blanched, canned and osmo-dehydrated products, and so on. The

major role of vacuum technology that has been exploited is the modification of
food structure in order to improve the strength and firmness of products after a
physical treatment for preservation and/or during storage.

Post-harvest storage:
The dipping of whole fruits in aqueous preservative solutions, which is improved
by vacuum application, has been used to prolong the post-harvest conservation of
many products: apples, lemons, avocados, mangoes, tomatoes, strawberries. The
compounds used in the impregnation solution are usually calcium salts (mostly
calcium chloride) and many plant hormones (polyamines). Vacuum infusion
seems to be used as an alternative to the pressure infiltration process (Poovaiah,
1986; Wang et al., 1993). The benefit of calcium application is generally related to
the ability of the cation to interact with cell membranes and walls, as well as to its
regulatory role at the metabolic level. Finally, the works of Lidster et al. (1986)
displayed the potential of postharvest vacuum infusion in solutions containing
flavonoid glycosides (quercetin) and phenolic acid (chlorogenic acid) to suppress
fruit softening of Spartan and Golden Delicious apples held at 20°C and 0°C. This
effect was mainly explained by the inhibitory properties of these compounds on
b-galactosidase.

Heat treatment: blanching and canning:

Heat treatments are responsible for irreversible denaturation of cellular tissue in
fruits or vegetables causing softening and juice loss. Vacuum infusion technology
was consequently used before heat treatment such as blanching, pasteurising and
canning with an aim of limiting thermal damages in the product. It is of particular
interest to note the treatment of button mushrooms, strawberries , apricots and
The use of vacuum technology to improve
processed fruit and vegetables

turnips showed that vacuum impregnation of mushroom with only water before
blanching and canning improved the weight yield in the final product. The water
retention resulting in this case could be also improved thanks to the preliminary
infusion of a hydrocolloid like xanthan gum (Gormley and Walshe, 1986). Xanthan
impregnation tended to decrease the shrinkage of mushroom during the
blanching/canning cycle and thus to reduce the product weight loss.

 Freezing:
Freezing/thawing cycles applied to fruits or vegetables
cause substantial damage to the cellular structure, that is denaturation of the
membranes and rupture of the cell walls, leading to loss of turgor and rigidity.
This generally results in a strong juice exudation when defrosting the product.
With the aim of limiting these problems, Barton (1951) showed that fresh fruits
mixed with sugar and gelling agents and consequently submitted to a vacuum
step, give frozen/defrosted products with better organoleptic quality. In the case
of strawberry slices as proposed by this author, the use of pectin and alginate
before freezing made it possible to maintain the shape, weight and colour of the
fruit to a greater degree than untreated fruit particularly with HM pectin.
Preliminary vacuum impregnation of the fruits in solutions containing gelling
agents was proposed by Cierco (1994) as a new method for improvement in the
quality of frozen strawberries. Using this process, the author obtained
frozen/thawed strawberries that maintained the features and taste of fresh ones
even after several years’storage at -20°C.

 Osmotic dehydration and other applications:

The simultaneous application of vacuum to fruits
throughout the entire osmotic dehydration process, or in the first minutes
of the treatment or through regular pulsed cycles, was regularly discussed
by Fito’s group and others. These authors dealt largely with mass transfer
The use of vacuum technology to improve
processed fruit and vegetables

kinetics and rates in vacuum osmotic dehydration.Other interesting

applications offered by vacuum technology have been proposed in the
literature

• vacuum hydration of dry beans: vacuum hydration pretreatments greatly

decreased the incidence and severity of splitting in the canned product and
accelerated water uptake.

• vacuum infiltration of sodium chloride into potato pieces before ohmic heating:
this infiltration is especially effective on particles with a thickness of less than
1cm, modifying to a significant degree the electrical conductivity of the product.

• vacuum application of browning inhibitors to cut apple and potato (Sapers et al.,
1990): ascorbate- or erythorbate-based inhibitors were used to prolong colour
stability or appearance of fresh cut products stored at 4°C.