LAUSR

Highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) are “super fruits” because they are a good source of antioxidants. However, they have a short shelf‐life. Therefore, methods to mitigate quality degradation of blueberries throughout storage must be assessed. This study evaluated the synergistic effect of two non‐thermal technologies on the quality of highbush blueberries: vacuum impregnation (VI) and electron beam irradiation. A VI process was optimized using three calcium lactate solutions (4, 5, and 6 g/mL) under different vacuum pressure/time combinations. The impregnated and untreated berries were irradiated up to 2.0 kGy using a 1.35 MeV electron‐beam accelerator at room temperature and immediately stored at 4±1°C for 14 days. Quality measurements of moisture content, texture, color, total soluble solids, pH, total titratable acidity, and total phenols were done on Day 0, 7, and 14 of storage. The VI pre‐treatment helped maintain the firmness and other quality attributes of irradiated blueberries. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Results from this study show the potential use of pre‐treatments to maintain the quality of “soft” fruits such as blueberries throughout refrigerated storage. These fruits marketability is highly correlated with their textural quality (firmness) in addition to their antioxidant properties. Electron‐beam irradiation treatment of fresh fruits and vegetables for shelf‐life extension causes detrimental changes in their physico‐chemical and sensory quality attributes. Pretreatment of blueberries with VI is suitable to maintain the quality of refrigerated highbush blueberries up to 14 days.