Barrier coating of bananas using plant cellulose and edible lemon peel fibrils to extend shelf-life.

Abstract

Barrier coating of fruits can decrease postharvest loss and improve food security. This study demonstrated the performance of barrier coating using pure plant-based carbohydrate polymers to improve the shelf life of bananas. The coating formulation was made of only two carbohydrate polymers: microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) from commercial bleached hardwood pulp fibers and lemon peel (LP) fibrils from milling commercial dry lemon peels. Bananas were coated by dipping into different MFC/LP suspensions with varied LP loadings. The measured banana peel color browning, fruit weight loss, firmness, and total soluble solids were used to compare coating performance with the control (without coating). The substitution of MFC with LP fibrils decreased ethylene production and the respiration of oxygen and carbon dioxide, due to the improved adhesion of the coating film on banana peels. Compared with control (no coating), substituting MFC with LP delayed banana peel browning by 2 days, decreased weight loss by up to 20 % and browning fraction by up to 33 %, compared with 1 day, 12 %, and 7 %, respectively, using pure MFC coating. Considering typical banana shelf life in supermarket is approximately 7 days, a 2-day shelf-life extension is significant.