X. Ruelas-Chacon,1,2 J. C. Contreras-Esquivel,1 J. Montañez,3 A. F. Aguilera-Carbo,2 M. L. Reyes-Vega,1 R. D. Peralta-Rodriguez,4 and G. Sanchéz-Brambila5
1Department of Food Research, Faculty of Chemistry, Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza, Colonia Republica Oriente, 25280 Saltillo, COAH, Mexico
2Department of Food Science and Technology, Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Calzada Antonio Narro 1923, Colonia Buenavista, 25315 Saltillo, COAH, Mexico
3Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry, Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila, Blvd. V. Carranza, Colonia Republica Oriente, 25280 Saltillo, COAH, Mexico
4Department of Polymerization Processes, Research Center for Applied Chemistry, Blvd. Enrique Reyna Hermosillo No. 140, 25253 Saltillo, COAH, Mexico
5Russell Research Center-ARS, Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit USDA, 950 College Station Road, Athens, GA 30605, USA
*xruelas@yahoo.com; coyotefoods@hotmail.com; mlrv20@yahoo.com; rene.peralta@ciqa.edu.mx
Abstract
There exists an increasing interest from consumers and scientific community in developing edible-natural-biodegradable coatings to replace commercial wax-based coatings for maintaining postharvest quality of vegetables. In this work, the effectiveness of guar gum coating on various quality characteristics of Roma tomato at 22 ± 2∘C over a 20 d storage period was investigated. Tomatoes were covered with a 1.5% guar gum coating plasticized with glycerol at 30% and stored at 22 ± 2∘C and 40%RH for 20-d. Tomatoes covered with edible coating significantly enhanced firmness and reduced weight loss, delayed changes on soluble-solids-content, retarded loss of total acidity, and decreased respiration rate compared with uncoated-control fruit. Sensory analysis by trained panelists revealed that the use of the edible coating influenced the acceptability of tomatoes.There were significant differences on the scores given by panelists when comparing the coated and uncoated tomatoes. It was concluded that guar gum affected favorably the physicochemical, microbial, and sensorial quality properties of Roma tomato and therefore could be beneficial in delaying the ripening process at 22 ± 2∘C.
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