The United States is one of few countries where the majority of bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) produced are green colored and grown on raised beds with mulch and drip irrigation. Outside the U.S., most peppers are grown in greenhouses and harvested as mature, colored peppers that receive a premium value at market. Florida bell pepper producers are in direct competition with Mexico, Israel, a...

This application note describes a fast analytical method for determination of halosulfuron-methyl using QuEChERS and capillary electrophoresis tandem mass spectrometry (CE/MS/MS). The method was developed and validated for halosulfuron-methyl in green and yellow bell peppers. It showed good linearity (R2 > 0.999) from 5.0 to 500 ppb for the analytical curves prepared in background electrolyte a...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of processing, i.e. heating (98 !C, 10 min), freezing (!20 !C) and freeze-drying on anthocyanins, carotenoids, and vitamin C in summer fruits and vegetables, i.e. cherries, nectarines, apricots, peaches, plums, carrots and red bell peppers. The commodities were collected from growers located in the Otago region (namely Cromwell, Roxburgh, Mo...

Different colored bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.), green, red, and yellow were examined for their content of phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid and carotenoids as well as free radical scavenging activity using DPPH assay and antioxidant activity using ß-carotene/linoleic acid assay. Phenolic, ascorbic acid and carotenoid contents varied in different colored bell peppers. Green pepper had highe...

Red bell peppers were stored in a salt-free, acidified cover solution with sulfite as a microbial preservative. The texture retention of stored peppers was evaluated as a function of pH, acid, calcium, blanch treatment, and growing conditions of the peppers. Field-grown peppers softened at a faster rate than greenhouse-grown peppers and exhibited more variability in their ability to maintain te...

An efficient extraction and analysis method was developed for the isolation and quantification of n-alkanes from bell peppers of different geographical locations. Five extraction techniques, i.e., accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), ball mill extraction, ultrasonication, rinsing, and shaking, were quantitatively compared using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Rinsing o...

After completing a three-year (1995-97) evaluation of bell pepper cultivars under induced bacterial spot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria or Xcv) and bacterial spot-free environments, we began a new series of trials in 2000 to compare new cultivars with previously recommended cultivars that were either highly resistant (‘Boynton Bell’) and/or that had very attractive fruits (‘X3R Wizard’...

Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is linked to health benefits but also to an increase in the number of outbreaks of foodborne illness. To determine the effectiveness of different sanitizing treatments for reducing bacterial pathogens on fresh produce, fresh cantaloupes and bell peppers were harvested and inoculated with suspensions of Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli O1...