FIELD: agriculture and food-processing industry, in particular, preparing of newly-harvested tomato fruits for storage for further usage thereof as food in spacecraft.
SUBSTANCE: method involves sterilizing distilled water, paper cloths and smoking paper; preparing 0.02%-solution of potassium permanganate and 0.5%-solution of citric acid based on sterilized distilled water; inspecting milk-ripeness tomatoes; wetting tomatoes in sweet water at temperature of 20-30 C during 10-20 min; washing in sweet running water at temperature of 20-30 C; separating fruit stalks; sequentially holding at room temperature in potassium permanganate solution and in citric acid solution during 5 min for each of said solutions; removing drops of each solution remained on fruit surfaces with sterilized paper cloths; applying continuous layer of medicine glue onto fruit stalk place and onto adjoining surface having area of 16-25 mm2; exposing to ultraviolet radiation at opposite sides of fruits during 30 min at radiation power of 2 W/m3; packaging each tomato fruit under aseptic conditions into smoking paper and laying packages in one layer within sterile polymeric trays.
EFFECT: prolonged storage life of newly-harvested tomato fruits fit for further consumption as food in spacecraft.
