Methods for post-harvest rapid cooling are technologies employed in the preservation of fruits and vegetables in order to increase the shelf life of these products. In this work, fruits of the guava 'Paluma' underwent forced-air rapid cooling with the aim of evaluating the influence of this method on post-harvest shelf life. The tests were carried out using a central composite rotational experimental design, in order to evaluate the influence of both the time between harvest and the beginning of rapid cooling, and the open area between the packaging, on the shelf life of the fruits. After rapid cooling, the fruits were stored at a temperature of 8 ± 3 °C and a relative humidity of 90 ± 3%. The open area between packaging significantly influenced (p < 0.05) the convective heat transfer coefficient in such a way that an increase in area size resulted in an increase in the coefficient. Post-harvest shelf-life was not significantly influenced (p > 0.05) by the open area between the packaging. The time between harvesting and the beginning of rapid cooling significantly influenced (p < 0.05) the post-harvest shelf life of the fruit. A reduction in the time between harvesting and the beginning of rapid cooling increased the post-harvest shelf life. The shortest waiting time, between harvesting the guava and the start of cooling, produced the longest shelf life, receiving what were considered as low grades in the sensory evaluation only from the 34th day of storage.
Guava; Fruits-cooling; Fruits-storage
