Fate of polyphenols and carotenoids in heat-treated fruits and vegetables

Polyphenols and carotenoids are ubiquitous phytomicronutrients in fruits and vegetables, contributing to color, taste, and human health benefits. This review presents recent findings on their behavior during common food-industry heat treatments such as pasteurization, sterilization, and blanching. It demonstrates that degradation kinetics of these compounds are slow compared to process durations, ensuring good stability within the plant matrix. The most significant losses occur during physical separation processes like peeling and screening, due to higher concentrations of these nutrients in the epidermis. The work informs processing strategies to preserve nutritional and sensory quality.