Improving the post-harvest quality of fruits during storage through edible packaging based on guar gum and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose

Fruits are particularly susceptible to post-harvest decay. In this context, bio-based coatings could be a useful andsustainable approach to overcome this problem. The EU Commission is very restrictive about food additives andmaterials in contact with food, regulated respectively by Reg. UE (CE) 1333/2008 and Reg. UE (CE) 10/2011. Inthis research, different percentages of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (H)-guar gum (G) (1–2% w/v) and po-tassium sorbate (PS) (0–2% w/v) were used to produce coatings to be applied on tomatoes (Solanum lycopersi-cum) and oranges (Citrus sinensis). The efficacy of the coatings was firstly evaluated through an accelerated test(28 ◦C 90% RH, 20 days) on artificially wounded fruits, and then under storage conditions (8 ◦C 95% RH, 6weeks). The physical and chemical parameters of the fruits were periodically analyzed and used to evaluate theeffect of the coatings on the fruit quality through a multivariate approach (PCA). All coatings were effective inpreserving fruits under refrigeration against Penicillium spp. and Alternaria spp., but PS led to significant fruitweight loss despite its strong fungistatic activity. Biopolymers showed potential for preserving fruit freshness, butalternative antifungal agents without adverse weight effects should be explored using a similar statisticalapproach. (16) (PDF) Improving the post-harvest quality of fruits during storage through edible packaging based on guar gum and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374295352_Improving_the_post-harvest_quality_of_fruits_during_storage_through_edible_packaging_based_on_guar_gum_and_hydroxypropyl_methylcellulose#fullTextFileContent [accessed Oct 06 2023].