Comparative Assessment of Storage Conditions on Vacuum-Packaged Ready-to-Eat Corn: Temporal Changes in...

This study investigates how different storage conditions (25°C ± 1°C, 4°C ± 0.5°C, -18°C ± 0.5°C) and storage periods (up to 120 days) influence the physicochemical characteristics and sensory quality of vacuum-packaged ready-to-eat corn (VPREC). The results demonstrated that both storage temperature and duration had significant impacts on the color, hardness, and nutritional composition of VPREC. During the mid-storage period, the frozen group retained higher moisture content. The frozen group effectively inhibited the decline in L^* and b^*, resulting in a ΔE of 18.19 for the sample, which was 31.54% and 16.90% lower than those of the samples stored under ambient (26.57) and refrigerated (21.89) groups, respectively. Hardness increased over time, but the hardness of the frozen VPREC (2343.03 g) was only 74.56% of that of the ambient ones after storage. Under ambient conditions, soluble sugars and total soluble solids (TSS) dropped sharply (from 20.51% to 7.65% and 21.67% to 8.67%, respectively), whereas the frozen group mitigated the decline, maintaining levels at 10.20% and 11.17%. Soluble protein significantly decreased during storage, with the frozen group showing a 54.34% reduction (0.51 mg·g^-1). Starch metabolism exhibited a biphasic trend, and frozen samples maintained the highest starch content (11.69 g·100 g^-1) by the end of storage. This study elucidates the dynamics of quality changes in VPREC during storage, providing a scientific basis for the future optimization of cold-chain preservation strategies.