Kouamé Elie FOKOUO^1,, N’zué Kouadio Christian OKA¹, Hanzi Karen KOUAME¹, Kouakou Nestor KOUASSI^{1, 2}

The production of dried mango slices represents a significant financial opportunity for many cooperatives in northern Côte d’Ivoire. However, the challenge lies in preserving the slices after production, which remains a limiting factor for the sustainable development of this sector. The objective of this study was to improve the shelf life of dried mango slices (Mangifera indica L. var. Kent). To achieve this, a number of treatments were applied. UV-C Exposure: The slices were exposed to ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation. Packaging: After UV-C treatment, the slices were packaged either in kraft paper or polyethylene. Subsequently, these treated slices underwent an accelerated aging test over three months within a controlled environment maintained at 40°C ± 2°C and a relative humidity of 75% ± 5%. Regular analyses were conducted at specific intervals (T0: initial time; T3: 3rd month of storage; T6: 6th month of storage; and T9: 9th month of storage). The study found that the microbiological load for the group treated with UV-C and packaged in kraft paper (LMS-UVC-K) showed no significant microbiological load, while the group treated with UV-C and packaged in polyethylene (LMS-UVC-P) experienced a 9% increase (TAMF). Additionally, LMS-UVC-P had a moisture content of 47.98%, whereas LMS-UVC-K had 12.77%. Remarkably, the water activity (Aw) values did not exceed the threshold (Aw = 0.6) for LMS-UVC-K. In sensory evaluations, LMS-UVC-K received the highest sensory ratings during the 9-month storage period, with an average score of 6 ± 0.00. In contrast, LMS-UVC-P scored an average of 4 ± 0.00. Overall, the combination of kraft paper and UV-C treatment allowed for a minimum shelf life of 9 months for dried mango slices, while the combination of polyethylene and UV-C treatment provided 3 months of preservation. This approach could effectively preserve dried mango slices produced.

Stability, Minimum durability date (MDD), Packaging, Dried mango slices, Shelf life, Ultraviolet-C (UV-C)