Effects of packaging materials and disinfectants on quality changes of ceylon spinach (Basella alba L.) during storage

lts of the total aerobic mesophilic 
counts (TMC) of the spinach during storage at 
10 ± 1oC (with a relative humidity of 44-60%) 
in different packaging materials are shown in 
Figure 6. The initial total mesophilic counts of 
the Ceylon spinach were from 7.0 to 7.3 log 
CFU g-1. This is in agreement with previous 
studies that showed initial TMC ranged from 2 
to 8 log CFU g-1 (Lee et al., 2013; Ottesen et al., 
2013; Gu et al., 2018). Samples washed with 
peracetic acid (100ppm, 5min) had initial TMC 
values (at day 0) of 5.3 ± 0.4 log CFU g-1. As 
recommended by Debevere et al. (2006), the 
microbiological criteria of TMC for fresh 
vegetables was targeted at 5 log CFU g-1 at the 
end of shelf-life, and an acceptable limit of 8 log 
CFU g-1. Therefore, the initial microbiological 
Table 1. Effects of the packaging materials on the overall color difference (ΔE) of the Ceylon spinach during storage at 10 ± 1oC 
Day 
Overall color difference (ΔE) 
Control PP HDPE LDPE 
0 0a 0a 0a 0a 
3 2.94b ± 0.23 1.95ab ± 0.49 1.94ab ± 1.14 1.72a ± 0.13 
6 NA 2.25a ± 1.59 1.22a ± 0.53 1.52a ± 0.60 
7 NA 1.72a ± 0.13 0.99a ± 0.56 1.01a ± 0.21 
Note: Unpackaged samples served as the control; Values with the same letter within the same row are not significantly different at P 
<0.05; NA: Not analyzed. 
Figure 5. Changes in the pH of the Ceylon spinach during storage 
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 3 6 7
R
a
ti
o
 o
f 
s
p
o
il
a
g
e
 (
%
)
Packaging materials
Control PP HDPE LDPE
days 
Effect of packaging materials and disinfectants on quality changes of Ceylon spinach during storage 
404 Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences 
Table 2. Changes in vitamin C contents of the Ceylon spinach in different packaging materials during storage at 10 ± 1oC 
Day 
Changes in vitamin C (mg/100g dry weight) 
Control PP HDPE LDPE 
0 30.79a ± 2.77 30.79a ± 12.77 30.79a ± 12.77 30.79a ± 12.77 
3 5.53a ± 3.36 22.55a ± 14.70 16.05a ± 10.30 15.36a ± 12.46 
6 NA 8.07a ± 1.06 5.93a ± 2.76 6.21a ± 2.17 
7 NA 6.42a ± 2.27 6.54a ± 1.28 4.06a ± 2.38 
Note: Unpackaged samples served as the control; Values with the same letter within the same row are not significantly different at P 
<0.05; NA: Not analyzed. 
quality of the Asian spinach was acceptable. No 
stored samples exceeded 8 log CFU g-1 after 6 
days of storage. The shelf-life of the samples in 
the PP and HDPE packages can be extended to day 
7 with TMC counts of 7.8 and 7.7 log CFU g-1, 
respectively. 
Total yeasts and molds 
Generally, yeast and mold counts of the 
samples in all the packaging materials increased 
gradually during storage at 10 ± 1oC (Figure 7). 
The initial counts of yeasts and molds were 3.6 
± 0.7 log CFU g-1. This was in line with the 
study of Debevere et al. (2006) who reported a 
tolerance limit of 4 log CFU g-1. During storage, 
all the samples showed rapid growth of yeasts 
and molds after day 3. Particularly, the total 
yeasts and molds of the samples in the PP 
package increased rapidly during storage. At 
day 7, the yeast and mold counts in the PP were 
5.2 ± 0.1 log CFU g-1, whereas the counts in the 
HDPE and LDPE packaging were 4.5 ± 0.4 and 
4.4 ± 0.6 log CFU g-1, respectively. The 
recommended acceptable limit of yeasts and 
molds is 5 log CFU g-1 (Debevere et al., 2006). 
The Ceylon spinach stored in LDPE as well as 
HDPE can be maintained up to 7 days at 10 ± 
1oC before becoming unacceptable for human 
consumption. 
Sensory evaluation 
Sensory evaluation was implemented on the 
characteristics of the Asian spinach to evaluate 
the color, odor, texture, and overall changes 
during storage (Figure 8). At day 0, the color, 
odor, and texture of the Asian spinach showed 
very high acceptability with scores of 4.6-4.8. 
Rapid changes in terms of the sensory aspects 
were observed in the control samples during 
storage (scores of 2.1-3.4 at day 3). 
The spoilage of vegetables may result from 
the degradation of physiological and sensory 
characteristics (color, texture, and odor) as well 
as from microbiological degradation (Kakade et 
al., 2015). In this study, the sensory quality had 
a high correlation with the chemical and 
microbiological quality. The samples stored in 
the PP and HDPE packages (both had an overall 
score of 4) were better than those packed in 
LDPE (overall score of 3). According to the 
results of this study, packaging the Ceylon 
spinach in LDPE at 10 ± 1oC is recommended if 
the spinach is used within 6 days, while 
packaging the Ceylon spinach in the PP or 
HDPE packages extends the shelf-life up to 7 
days. More importantly, after 7 days of storage, 
the Ceylon spinach in the HDPE package had 
better quality compared to those packed in PP 
based on the microbiological quality and 
spoilage rate. Therefore, the HDPE package is 
suggested to prolong the quality of the Ceylon 
spinach during storage. 
Conclusions 
Ceylon spinach should first be 
decontaminated with peracetic acid (100ppm for 
5 minutes) before being packed then stored at 
10 ± 1oC. The results indicated that the use of 
PP or HDPE packages might optimally prolong 
the shelf-life of the Ceylon spinach up to 7 days. 
The Ceylon spinach in the LDPE packaging is 
recommended if the produce is used within 6 
days, while the Ceylon spinach in HDPE had 
better quality compared to those packed in PP 
based on the microbiological quality and 
spoilage rate. Therefore, the HDPE packaging 
material is recommended for storage of Ceylon 
spinach at 10 ± 1oC. 
Tong Thi Anh Ngoc & Phan Thi Thanh Que (2019) 
 405 
Figure 6. Total aerobic mesophilic counts (TMC) on the spinach during storage 
Figure 7. Total yeast and mold counts of the Ceylon spinach during storage 
4
5
6
7
8
9
0 3 6 7
T
M
C
(l
o
g
 C
F
U
 g
-1
)
Packaging materials
Control PP HDPE LDPE
2
3
4
5
6
0 3 6 7
Y
e
a
s
ts
 a
n
d
 m
o
u
ld
s
(l
o
g
 C
F
U
 g
-1
)
Packaging materials
Control PP HDPE LDPE
0
1
2
3
4
5
0 3 6 7
C
o
lo
r 
s
c
o
re
s
days
Control PP HDPE LDPE
(a)
days 
days 
Effect of packaging materials and disinfectants on quality changes of Ceylon spinach during storage 
406 Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences 
Figure 8. Sensory changes of (a) color, (b) odor, (c) texture, and (d) overall attributes of the Ceylon spinach during storage 
0
1
2
3
4
5
0 3 6 7
O
d
o
r 
s
c
o
re
s
days
Control PP HDPE LDPE
(b)
0
1
2
3
4
5
0 3 6 7
T
e
x
tu
re
 s
c
o
re
s
days
Control PP HDPE LDPE
(c)
0
1
2
3
4
5
0 3 6 7
O
v
e
ra
ll
 s
c
o
re
s
days
Control PP HDPE LDPE
(d)
Tong Thi Anh Ngoc & Phan Thi Thanh Que (2019) 
 407 
Acknowledgements 
We would like to thank Ms. Pham Hong 
Nhi and Mr. Dinh Van Khanh Linh for their 
assistance in this study. 
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