Effect of mucilage edible coating on fresh-cut nectarine cultivar ‘Big Bang’

The mucilage (OFI) obtained from cladodes of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) is useful to produce natural edible coatings to improve the shelf life of fruits. Edible coatings could be used to extend the shelf life of fresh-cut for products. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of (OFI) on quality of ‘Big Bang' nectarine slices. After cutting, nectarine slices were dipped in three different solutions: 1) distilled water, mucilage, glycerol (MC); 2) distilled water, mucilage, glycerol, Tween 20 (TW); 3) distilled water as control (CTR) and were stored for 3, 5, 7 and 12 days at 5°C and 90% RH, in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packages under passive modified atmosphere conditions. Polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate (Tween 20) is a non-ionic emulsifier. At each sampling time, color, weight loss, visual quality score, carotenoid contents and microbiological characteristics were assessed together with CO2 and O2 content in packages. The results show that TW treatment showed a significant higher carotenoid content and a lower weight loss than CTR and MC treatments, until the 7th day of storage. Moreover, TW treatment showed significant difference on bacterial count compared to other treatments.