Abstract: In order to explore the effect heat treatment on microbiological contamination and quality of fresh-cut Hami melon, fresh-cut Hami melon was heated in 75, 85 ℃ and 95 ℃ water bath. The bacterial counts, color, dehydroascorbic acid, acid, total soluble solids, electrolyte leakage and juice leakage of the treated Hami melon were measured at 2-day interval during storage, respectively. The results showed that 95 ℃ treatment for 60 s revealed the best effect and the bacterial counts in treated samples were 1.3 × 103 CFU/g, while the bacterial counts in the control were 1.3 × 103 CFU/g on the first day. On the 10th day, the bacterial counts in samples subjected to treatment at 95 ℃ for 30s were 2.4 × 105 CFU/g, while the bacterial counts in the control was 1.8 × 108 CFU/g. Therefore, heat treatment had obvious impact on dehydroascorbic acid, acid, total soluble solids, electrolyte leakage and juice leakage, but almost no effect on color of fresh-cut Hami melon.

Key words: heat treatment, fresh-cut Hami melon, microorganism, quality