Application of electrolysed water in the quality and safety control of fruits and vegetables: A review

Fruits and vegetables (F&V) provide people with a variety of essential vitamins, antioxidants and dietary fibre, thus constituting integral components of human diet. With the surge of interest in F&V, their consumption ratio has kept increasing in recent years. Unfortunately, microorganisms and pesticide residues on the surfaces of F&V may be hazardous to humans. As an emerging technology, electrolysed water (EW) shows great application potential in reducing these hazards. EW treatment not only effectively removes microorganisms from F&V but also degrades pesticide residues on their surfaces. In addition, EW treatment affects the physiological metabolism of harvested F&V, which is conducive to maintain their sensory quality and nutritional value. This article reviews the principles of EW preparation, advantages and disadvantages, and the application of EW in F&V in the last decade, including disinfection of irrigation water, removal of pesticide residues, disinfection after harvest its effects on physicochemical parameters and enzyme activity of F&V, etc. Moreover, the combination of EW and other technology, including ozone, short-time heat treatment, ultraviolet irradiation and ultrasound, to further improve the quality control effects of F&V is discussed.