Preservation of potatoes by irradiation and economic considerations

In Poland potatoes are a major food item for human consumption, fodder and industrial applications. Many experiments have been carried out in our laboratory during the past few years while studying the extension of the storage-life of irradiated potatoes. The paper describes the weight losses due to some biochemical changes, consumer acceptance and the economic evaluation of two varieties. The losses of irradiated potatoes were reduced by a factor of 2-2.5 in comparison with controls. Polyphenol oxidase activity and chlorogenic acid content, which are responsible for darkening of raw and boiled tubers, respectively, were of statistical significance; nevertheless, these changes seem to have no practical value. Irradiation of potatoes had a significant effect on the reducing sugars content, but no influence on quality for industrial applications. Consumers accepted those irradiated potatoes that had always received the higher scores. In view of the Polish climate, irradiation of potatoes is economically reasonable; however, the greatest advantage can be expected from a multipurpose irradiator. (author)