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Avocado is a tropical fruit that stands out with its rich nutrient composition and significant oil content. In addition to its consumption as a fresh fruit, the supply and demand for avocado-containing products in the daily diet are increasing. Along with the studies investigating the nutritional value and benefits of avocado, the amount of its production and new uses are increasing day by day. The most important problems in the processing of avocados are the rapid color change of the fruit and its short shelf life due to physical, chemical and microbiological factors. The impact of these problems can be reduced by subjecting fruits to applications such as heat treatment, low temperature conditioning, surface coating, modified/controlled atmosphere and use of 1-methylcyclopropene before processing. Good quality and processable avocado fruits are processed into oil, guacamole, puree, sauce, fresh slices, dried or frozen products, depending on the target market and using appropriate technologies. In this review, the avocado-based product market, which is formed by processing avocado fruits with certain quality criteria and continues to develop day by day, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, demand for minimally processed fresh fruits and vegetables has been increasing. Non-thermal methods are applied to maintain freshness of these foods and to ensure microbiological safety. As a non-thermal technology and alternative to chlorine, UV-C light is used to inactivate microorganisms on the surface of foods. However, the effectiveness of this application is limited due to certain factors such as surface properties of food and low penetration depth of UV-C. Studies on the combined use of UV-C with water, called water assisted UV-C (WUV-C), have been carried out to minimize the effect of these factors. Studies have shown that WUV-C treatment is more effective for the decontamination of microorganisms inoculated onto the surface of food compared to the UV-C system. In this study, the investigations on the use of WUV-C system for decontamination of fresh fruits and vegetables were reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]