Preservation of sweet pepper purees: effect on chemical, bioactive and microbial quality.

In this study purees were prepared from the three different varieties of sweet pepper (red var. Inspiration, yellow var. Bachata and green var. Indra). The effect of storage on the chemical [water activity, pH, non-enzymatic browning (NEB) index and color], bioactive (total phenols, flavonoids, antioxidant activity, ascorbic acid and carotenoids) and microbiological (total plate count and mold yeast count) quality of the purees were observed at the interval of 15 days for 75 days. Antioxidant activity of purees was assessed in terms of DPPH, metal chelating activity and reducing power assay. The non-significant (p < 0.05) changes were observed in the water activity and pH of purees upto 30 days of storage. The NEB index was high in green puree as compared to the others at the end of storage period.There was minor change in the color of purees during storage. Bioactive compounds retention was higher in red (90%) followed by yellow (82%) and green (70%) sweet pepper puree. The purees had microbial stability after the 75 days of storage. This study suggests that shelf life of sweet peppers can be enhanced in the form of purees with maximum retention of bioactive compounds. © Association of Food Scientists & Technologists (India) 2021.