Nutritional and quality changes of minimally processed faba (Vicia faba L.) beans during storage: Effects of domestic microwaving

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. The present study evaluated the effect of different sanitizers (an edible coating (EC) based on sucrose fatty acid esters, and UV¿C (3 kJ m¿2), compared with a control consisting of a conventional NaOCl washing (CTRL)) on the quality changes of fresh¿cut (FC) faba (Vicia faba L.) seeds stored for 10 d at 4 °C. Additionally, domestic cooking of samples was assessed by periodically microwaving (3 min, 700 W) during FC samples storage to obtain a ready¿to¿eat product. The modified atmosphere gas composition at the steady was the same for all treatments. The EC treatment better retained vitamin C, total phenolics content (TPC) and tannins, while UV¿C better maintained the sugars levels of samples. EC and UV¿C controlled mesophilic and enterobacteria growth with 1 and 2¿log units lower contents than CTRL after 10 d at 4 °C. Microwaving reduced the microbial loads below detection limits. EC or UV¿C treatments extended the shelf¿life of fresh¿cut faba seeds from 7 to 10 d at 4 °C comparing with CTRL. As expected, microwaving decreased the bioactive compounds contents, but retained the quality of faba seeds allowing to obtain a ready¿to¿eat tasteful food.