Impact of carboxymethyl cellulose coating functionalized with browning inhibitors for maintaining quality attributes of fresh-cut pineapple cubes

Efficacy of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-based edible coating having calcium chloride (1%) and ascorbic acid (AA) (1%) in maintaining the postharvest quality of pineapple cubes was studied. Coated fresh-cut pineapple cubes were kept at 5 +/- 2 degrees C for 15 days. Coated cubes maintained nutritional and sensorial quality over the control and exhibited lower weight loss up to 15 days. AA and total phenolics in coated pineapple were higher than that of control. The polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activity found lower in coating treatments till the end of storage period. Further, browning incidence with CMC containing anti-browning agents was lower than that of CMC alone. Total microbial counts for all coated treatments were within safe limits. In a nutshell, combined use of CMC with anti-browning agents, namely, calcium chloride (1%) and AA (1%) may be useful for upholding the postharvest quality of pineapple cubes. Practical applications The preservation techniques proposed in this work can be easily adopted at industrial scale. The formulations of CMC (1%) + AA (1%) + CaCl (1%) proved to be the most effective for extending the shelf life of the pineapple cubes till 15 days of storage at 5 +/- 2 degrees C. The outcome from this study indicates that the use of edible coating in conjunction with browning inhibitors can be considered as a safe and effective treatment, resulting in reduced browning of the pineapple cubes without significantly impairing the nutritional value.