Active Packaging-Releasing System with Foeniculum vulgare Essential Oil for the Quality Preservation of Ready-to-Cook (RTC) Globe Artichoke Slices

Two globe artichoke genotypes, "Spinoso sardo" and "Opera F1", have been processed as ready-to-cook (RTC) slices and refrigerated at 4 °C for 12 days (i) to evaluate the suitability to be processed as RTC slices; (ii) to evaluate the effect of a Foeniculum vulgare essential oil (EO) emitter, within an active package system, to delay quality decay, thus extending shelf life; (iii) to estimate the impact of EO emitter on the sensory profile of the RTC slices after cooking. Results revealed that both globe artichoke genotypes possess a good attitude to be processed as RTC product. "Opera F1" showed the best performances for color parameters, texture and chemical indexes, while "Spinoso sardo" showed lower mass loss (ML) over the storage time. The addition of EO emitter slowed down the consumption of O₂, better preserved texture when compared to the control and more effectively control polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity and antioxidants' retention during the cold storage. Microbial counts in control globe artichoke RTC slices were significantly higher than those packed with EO emitter, confirming the inhibiting role played by EO of F. vulgare. In addition, the EO emitter did not influence negatively the sensory profile of RTC globe artichoke slices after microwave cooking.