Stability of dried and intermediate moisture tomato pulp during storage.

Commercial tomato pulp was air-dried to two final moisture contents in order to obtain intermediate moisture pulp (IMP, 23% moisture) and dried pulp (DP, 9% moisture). IMP and DP were stored at 4, 20, and 37 degrees C for approximately 5 months; periodically samples were analyzed to evaluate heat and oxidative damage by measurement of color changes, total phenolics, rutin, lycopene and furosine concentrations, and antioxidant activity of the lipophilic extract. IMP and DP, despite different drying degree, had similar antioxidant activity; in fact, whereas lycopene was stable to drying treatments, ascorbic acid was totally degraded in both products. During storage, IMP and DP showed different behavior: IMP was more sensitive to degradation than DP, especially with regard to lycopene, rutin, and antioxidant activity degradation and to nonenzymatic browning. Effects of storage temperature varied with regard to different parameters: variations in rutin, furosine, and color indices were higher in products stored at higher temperatures, while lycopene and antioxidant activity of the lipophilic fraction were maximally degraded in products stored at 4 degrees C.