Washing, peeling and cutting of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables

The consumptions of fresh fruits and vegetables are directly linked to reduced risk of chronic diseases and to enhance resistance against diseases (Van Duyn and Pivonka 2000). In addition to the pleasure of eating fruits and vegetables, these provide various phytochemicals and antioxidants (Kalt 2005), phytoestrogens, and anti-inflammatory agents (Vincent et al. 2010) and other protective compounds (Kaur and Kapoor 2001; Slavin and Lloyd 2012). These aspects of health benefits led to the tremendous increased market for fresh cut and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Fresh-cut products are preferred over processed one because consumers are now aware of the commonly nutritional losses, desired sensory attributes such as color and flavor and increased demand for ‘natural-like’ attributes (Kader 2002). The fruits and vegetables constitute a suitable meal for satisfying today’s lifestyles, because these need minimal preparation and provide a great meals with varieties of nutrients, vitamins and minerals (Froder et al. 2007).