Effect of Calcium Treatment Temperature on Fresh‐cut Cantaloupe Melon during Storage

The effect of calcium treatment temperature on cut cantaloupe fruit during storage was determined. Fruit dipped in calcium solution at 4°C had lower respiration and moisture loss rates than treated fruit at ambient temperature. Calcium treatment lowered lipase activity at both temperatures, but the effect was more notable in fruit treated at the lower temperature where lipase activity was undetectable in the freshly processed fruit and after storage for 24 h. The ability of calcium to confer rigidity to the tissue components at low temperatures, possibly through improved covalent crosslinking, was indicated by viscosity measurements indicating higher values for pulverized cantaloupe melon with added calcium at 4°C than fruit blended under similar conditions at ambient temperature.