EFFECTIVENESS OF SOME WASHING LIQUIDS ON THE QUALITY OF LEMON BASIL LEAVES (Ocimum sanctum L.) DURING COLD STORAGE
Daftar Isi:
- Kemangi (Ocimum sanctum L.) is one of the fresh foods that have high nutritional content. Indonesian people generally consume lemon basil leaves directly as fresh vegetables without special treatment. However, lemon basil leaves have deficiencies, which are easily damaged, and because people often consume them directly it can create food safety risks. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of several washing liquids on the quality of basil leaves during cold storage. The first stage in this research was preparation of washing liquid to be used, namely Acidic Electrolyzed Water (AEW), Basic Electrolyzed Water (BEW), 100 ppm chlorine solution, and tap water. The second stage is washing the basil leaves three times with the washing liquid for 2 minutes with agitation speed of 150 rpm. After washing, the lemon basil leaves are dried with spinner and the leaves of each washing liquid are weighed and packed with PET packaging. Furthermore, the lemon basil leaves are stored in the refrigerator with a temperature of ± 50C for 4 days. Washing liquid before use is tested by pH, ORP and DO, and microbiological tests using the TPC method. During the storage, color, texture, moisture content, Aw, and Total Plate Count testing of lemon basil leaves are washed. The results of this study indicate that there were no significant differences in lemon basil leaves between washing liquids in the color tests. However, lemon basil leaves washed with AEW (acidic electrolyzed water) show a slower rate of deterioration in the wilt, moisture, and Aw test results. The results of this study also showed that washing with AEW was effective in inhibiting the growth of microorganisms until the 4th day so that it could be concluded that AEW could reduce the safety risk of basil leaves in terms of microbiology