Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Do the Blueberries We Purchase in Different Outlets Have Acceptable Quality Attributes?

M. Teresa Sanchez-Ballesta
ORCID logo ,
Carmen Marti-Anders
,
María Dolores Álvarez
ORCID logo ,
M. Isabel Escribano
,
Carmen Merodio
,
Irene Romero
* ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 5 June 2023 / Approved: 5 June 2023 / Online: 5 June 2023 (13:04:55 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Sanchez-Ballesta, M.T.; Marti-Anders, C.; Álvarez, M.D.; Escribano, M.I.; Merodio, C.; Romero, I. Are the Blueberries We Buy Good Quality? Comparative Study of Berries Purchased from Different Outlets. Foods 2023, 12, 2621. Sanchez-Ballesta, M.T.; Marti-Anders, C.; Álvarez, M.D.; Escribano, M.I.; Merodio, C.; Romero, I. Are the Blueberries We Buy Good Quality? Comparative Study of Berries Purchased from Different Outlets. Foods 2023, 12, 2621.

Abstract

Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) are becoming increasingly popular for their nutritional and health benefits, and their economic value is therefore increasing. Loss of quality that can occur due to softening and fungal attack is an important consideration when marketing blueberries. Despite the added value of blueberries, no studies have been carried out on how the fruit arrives at the outlets just before purchase by the consumer in terms of firmness, physico-chemical parameters, phenolic compounds and fungal growth. The aim of this work has been, therefore, to investigate possible differences in quality parameters between blueberries purchased from ten different outlets, regardless of the supplier. The results showed that all samples were of acceptable quality, although they all had a low maturity index at the point of sale. On the other hand, differences in the parameters measured were observed between samples of the same cultivar while we could not find differences between conventionally and organically grown blueberries, suggesting that preharvest and postharvest factors could influence the final quality when they reach the consumer.

Keywords

Blueberries; quality; firmness; fungal infection; anthocyanin content; phenolic content; antioxidant capacity

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Food Science and Technology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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