Abstract:
Fruits such as strawberries, grapes, and blueberries are widely preferred due to their high nutritional value and antioxidant content. However, because these fruits lack peelable skins, potential pesticide residues, soil particles, microbial contamination, and environmental pollutants on their surfaces can only be removed by washing.
In recent years, extensive literature evaluating pesticide residues in numerous fruits and vegetables has established rankings identifying the most contaminated products. Strawberries, grapes, cherries, blackberries, and blueberries are frequently reported in these lists. These findings suggest a need for more effective washing and decontamination methods to reduce pesticide residues in these fruits, which are consumed without peeling due to their lack of peelable skins. This study aims to evaluate the potential effectiveness of advanced cleaning technologies, such as ultrasound-assisted washing, ozonized water, deionized water rinsing, cold plasma, various pesticide-binding applications, and/or UV-C treatment, which can be applied in retail markets and similar sales points, in reducing chemical and microbiological residues in some fruits. Innovative fruit washing approaches have shown reductions of up to 99% in pesticide residues. UV-C treatment has been shown to reduce total microbial load by 2-3 log CFU/g. While the effectiveness of these applications varies depending on fruit type, processing time, and operational parameters, the findings demonstrate significant potential for improving food safety. No significant negative impact on the sensory or physical properties of the fruits has been reported.
It has been assessed that integrating and applying these new technologies into retail outlets can offer an innovative and practical approach to improving food safety in terms of pesticide residue and microbial load in fruits consumed unpeeled. This model can also strengthen consumer confidence. Establishing an economic feasibility study, determining consumer reactions, and evaluating carbon footprint impacts will be vital for large-scale application and dissemination strategies.
