Effects of Postharvest Pulsed UV Light Treatment of White Button Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) on Vitamin D2 Content and Quality Attributes

Pulsed UV light (PUV) was investigated as a means to rapidly increase vitamin D-2 (D-2) content in fresh button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). D-2 was found to increase to over 100% RDA/serving following 3 pulses (1 s). Following 12 pulses, D-2 began to approach a maximum concentration of 27 mu g/g DW. The D-2 produced with 3 pulses decreased from 11.9 to 9.05 mu g/g DW after 3 days of storage; however, D-2 levels remained nearly constant after this point throughout an 11-day shelf life study. PUV treated sliced mushrooms produced significantly more D-2 than whole mushrooms, and it was also observed that brown buttons generated significantly less D-2 than white buttons. Several quality attributes were assessed, and no significant differences between control and PUV treated mushrooms were observed. These findings suggest that PUV treatment is a viable method for rapidly increasing the D-2 content of fresh mushrooms without adversely affecting quality parameters.