Effect of heat treatment on quality of sweet potato in wrapper type cold store during long-term storage

The effects of hot water treatment on the sprouting inhibition and spoilage of sweet potato roots were evaluated in Wrapper Type Cold Store (WTCS) during long-term storage. The changes in quality attribute were also determined. The results indicated that hot water treatment significantly inhibited sprouting and decay of sweet potato for the storage period. It also showed that there were no significant differences in starch properties in terms of pasting properties, enthalpy and temperatures onset (T-O), peak (T-P) and endset (T-E) of gelatinization of potato starches among all the treatments, especially between heat-treated and untreated samples. Hot water treatment had also no significant impact on the internal components' quality of the roots. Only less than 4% of the year long stored roots were discarded due to spoilage. It was considered that thermal treatment supplied a lethal dose of heat to surface pathogens and cauterized eye without damaging the nutritional and processing qualities of sweet potato. The success of storage experiments in prolonging sweet potato by means of WTCS was obtained in the decrease in weight loss and demand the for grower and consumer. This new technique opens a new avenue to prolonging the storage life of sweet potato with good quality and minimal waste.