Frozen green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris, L.) quality profile evaluation during home storage Original Research Article

Home storage is at the end of the frozen foods distribution chain, and not much is known how it affects frozen vegetables quality. This research presents a computational evaluation of frozen green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris, L.) quality profile, in terms of ascorbic acid, starch content, chlorophylls a and b, colour (Hunter a and b co-ordinates and total colour difference) and flavour, at storage temperatures of +5, −6, −12 and −18 °C, for respectively, 1, 4, 14, and 60 days. Simulations were set to access the impact of the pre-established after sale dates of the `star datingʹ system. Results demonstrate that green beans nutritional and sensory parameters are well retained at the storage temperatures of +5, −6 and −12 °C. At −18 °C, sensory parameters (e.g. colour and flavour) are well retained, but nutritional parameters, such as ascorbic acid and starch, degraded. The study concluded that the `star datingʹ system is a good after sale dating system for frozen green beans for the storage temperatures of +5, −6 and −12 °C. The system fails to maintain a good balance between sensory and nutritional parameters at low storage temperatures (e.g. <−18 °C).