Effects of processing and packaging on vitamin C and β-carotene content of ready-to-use (RTU) vegetables

High pressure liquid chromatographic methods were used for measurement of the concentration of vitamin C and beta-carotene in broccoli and green pepper. The effects of processing, packaging and storage on the levels of these nutrients in both unprocessed and processed ready-to-use (RTU) vegetables were determined. Systems investigated included: (a) unpacked and pillow packaged broccoli, and (b) unpacked, pillow, partial vacuum, and total vacuum packaged green pepper. There was a statistically significant decrease in vitamin C over a 10 day storage period of unpacked and packaged vegetables including all four packaging systems (P < 0.001, overall average decrease of 11%). The overall loss of beta-carotene during the 10 day storage period was not statistically significant (P = 0.14). Although there was a significant loss in vitamin C during storage, in most cases there was no difference in loss of vitamin C or beta-carotene between the processed and unprocessed vegetables, and the packaging systems. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.