Evaluating the effect of storage conditions on the shelf life of cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.)

Cape gooseberry is the fruit of the plant Physalis peruviana L. and has gained commercial and scientific interest for its contents of health-promoting compounds. An integral approach to estimate shelf life of cape gooseberry was conducted taking into account physicochemical, microbiological and nutritional changes and consumer acceptance. The experiments were performed for 5 independent harvest times during two years (2014–2015). The conditions of storage were temperatures of 4, 8 and 12 °C and a relative humidity of 80%. Fruit with (Y) and without calyx (N) were packed into polyethylene terephthalate (PET) trays and polypropylene (PP) baskets, respectively. The experiment was conducted for a total of 76 d or shorter when the fruit was spoilt earlier. Fruit with the calyx showed a longer shelf life, while 8 °C was the temperature that gave longer shelf lives irrespective of the calyx presence. The critical quality attribute of shelf life without calyx was fungal growth, which determined consumer acceptance; weight loss was the most critical quality attribute for the fruit with calyx. Studying various quality attributes in an integral way appeared to give a better understanding of the shelf life.