Dip Treatments for fresh Romaine lettuce

Abstract

The effect of dip treatments with chlorine, citric acid, ascorbic acid and CaCl2 on the storage life of Romaine lettuce leaves was investigated. While the presence of chlorine was required to delay degradation related to the activity of the native and exogenous flora, the other additives did not improve the storage life of the product when applied alone. Combination of citric and ascorbic acids did have a beneficial effect on the overall visual quality (color, texture, brightness). The ratio of ascorbic acid contents in samples treated and not treated with this compound was about 4.2:1 immediately after the dip treatment but dropped to about 2.3:1 after four days of storage.