Evaluation of carotenoids and furosine content in air dried carrots and parsnips pre-treated with pulsed electric field (PEF)

Carrot and parsnip slices were subjected to hot drying at 50, 60 and 70 °C with or without pulsed electric field (PEF) pretreatmentat 0.9 kV/cm and 1000 and 10,000 pulses. The effect of drying on processed samples was assessed by analysis ofcarotenoids, the furosine value, total phenols and the Whiteness Index (WI). PEF pre-treatment is effective in reducing dryingtimes, but the degree of cellular breakdown makes the compounds more susceptible to chemical and enzymatic reactions. Inour condition PEF pre-treatment increased the carotenoid degradation and promoted the Maillard reaction above all at thehighest temperature of 70 °C. The assessment of carotenoid stability, together with the furosine value, were confirmed tobe useful tools for the evaluation of effects of thermal damage and quality of dried food products, also after different dryingtreatments.