Calcium content
Initially, Ca lactate-based prefreezing treatments clearly increased the amount of tissue bound Ca in thawed berries compared to the reference berries by three times (Fig. 1). The amount of tissue bound Ca in thawed berries that had been dipped in the Ca lactate solution and cooled increased relative to the frozen directly berries by about 15%. Treatment with 1.5% Ca lactate combined with cooling dips resulted in higher calcium contents in frozen strawberries compared to other treatments. Several authors have reported that Ca dips in combination with heat treatment or modified atmosphere storage and refrigeration increase calcium content and fruit
firmness and delay postharvest decay. The employment of organic acid salts of calcium as firming agents enhances the nutritional value of foods since organic calcium salts are more bioavailable than are the inorganic salts. Organic calcium salts are already employed in therapeutic applications, such as nutraceutical dietary supplements and in the fortification of foods.