Fresh-cut asparagus is one of the most popular fresh vegetables for healthy consumption. However, the
level of microbial load in the raw vegetable can cause food poisoning and shorten its shelf-life of
asparagus. The objectives of this work were to determine the effect of chlorinated and ozonated water in
the washing process to reduce the microbial load on fresh green asparagus and the effect of modified
atmosphere packaging (MAP) on asparagus quality. Washing at 10 C for 15 min with chlorinated water
(100 mg/L free Cl2) reduced aerobic plate count which had higher efficiency on microbial reduction than
the use of ozonated water (0.1 mg/L O3). No significant differences on the amount of Escherichia coli
contamination among washing methods were found. Asparagus in modified atmosphere packaging
retarded the deterioration process. Changes in hue angle followed a first-order kinetic reaction.
Temperature dependence of the kinetic rate constant during storage time of asparagus obeyed the
Arrhenius relationship with an activation energy (Ea) 29.33 4.60 kJ/mol. The shelf-life prediction
equation was related well with real practice. The combination of appropriate washing process and MAP
increased the food safety, maintained the quality and prolonged the shelf-life of asparagus.