Multifactorial Shelf-life Prediction of Refrigerated Broccoli at the Household Level

Reducing fruit and vegetable waste at the household level would significantly contribute to decreasing the overall environmental impact of the food chain. Achieving this requires an understanding of the most critical factors in product quality to predict shelf life. Broccoli has been chosen to model this as it is consumed worldwide. To simulate consumer conditions, broccoli heads were purchased in bulk from a local supermarket and stored (in a disposable, compostable bag) at four storage temperatures (3, 5, 7, and 12 ºC) for 13 days. Broccoli quality was evaluated using five factors: weight loss, vitamin C content, total phenolic content, chlorophyll content, and consumer acceptability. Individual shelf-life estimates were calculated for each factor independently using kinetic models and adequate threshold values. The product’s shelf life was obtained by combining the individual estimates; consumer acceptability was noted as being the most relevant criterion at any temperature, followed by vitamin C content or weight loss depending on the storage temperature. However, the effect of temperature was nonlinear; variations within the 3–5 ºC range had little impact on shelf life (13–14 days), whereas an increase to 7 ºC would cause a significant reduction in shelf life (9 days). Hence, according to the fitted models, it is particularly important that the temperature of refrigerated broccoli is closely controlled within the range of 3 to 5 ºC. This information is highly relevant to the industry, supermarkets, and the end consumer, as it emphasizes that temperature control of broccoli is essential to ensure the quality of the product throughout its shelf life, helping to reduce food waste.