ABSTRACT
Plastic packaging from petroleum derives used in the food industry represents serious environmental problems. Alternative solutions to these problems consist of the development of biodegradable packaging, such as films and edible coatings including the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). In this research we evaluated the effect of the PVA application by two different techniques aiming to increase shelf life of ripe tomatoes, cultivar Carmen. The methodology of this study consisted in covering tomatoes with a PVA solution and also with PVA impregnated tracing paper. The different fruit lots were kept in polystyrene trays for 19 days on a laboratory bench at a controlled temperature of 25±3ºC. The fruit analyzes were compared to the control fruits without any treatment, being evaluated firmness, pH, titratable total acidity, mass loss, total soluble solids content, water activity and color determination of fruit surface. Among the different treatments, the PVA coating applied directly to the fruits contributed to control the firmness and the mass loss, as well as this treatment influenced the total soluble solids content, the luminosity and the red color of fruits with statistical difference compared to the control and covered with tracing paper (with or without PVA). The PVA coating solution applied directly on the fruits contributed to maintain the postharvest quality of the ripe tomatoes.
Keywords:
Lycopersicon esculentum; biodegradable packaging; shelf life; perishability
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