Abstract:Spinach was utilized as the test material to study the effect of delayed pre-cooling on the nutrition and quality of spinach throughout cold chain circulation process. The fresh spinach was placed for 0, 1, 5, and 9 hours, and then implemented differential pre-cooling to 4 ℃, respectively. The spinach was transported and sold with both film and non-film packaging at 4 ℃. The spinach was also kept refrigerated at home for 2 days, and changes in nutrition and quality were measured. The results showed that after 6 days of cold chain circulation at 4 ℃, the spinach that underwent delayed pre-cooling for 0 hours and was packaged with film achieved the best nutritional and quality results. The sensory evaluation was 7.2, and the weight loss rate was 4.25%. And the mass fractions of vitamin C, chlorophyll, and soluble protein were 4.66 mg/hg, 0.73 mg/g, and 0.35 mg/g, respectively. Therefore, the spinach should be pre-cooled in the field within 1 hour after harvesting, and then packaged with anti-fog film and transported at 4 ℃ using cold chain circulation to maintain the freshness and storage quality of spinach.
