The influence of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage edible coating on the quality of 'Hayward' kiwifruit slices

The aim of this work was to study the effect of mucilage edible coating extracted from Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) on the quality and shelf life maintenance of packaged kiwifruit slices. OFI mucilage alone or added with TWEEN® 20 were applied on kiwifruit fresh cut surfaces. After treatments, kiwifruit samples were stored under passive atmosphere at 5 ± 1 °C for 3, 5, 7 and 12 days. At each storage period, visual quality and flavor score, pectin content, ascorbic acid and the microbiological characteristics were measured together with CO2 and O2 content in the packages. Kiwifruit slices coated only with mucilage or with mucilage plus Tween 20, showed a significant higher firmness and a lower weight loss than untreated slices, until 5 d of shelf life. No further differences in weight loss occurred after 7 d of shelf life, while slices treated only with mucilage retained the highest firmness until the end of the shelf life period (12 d). OFI mucilage alone had significant beneficial effects on the visual and flavor score of the kiwifruit slices, throughout the shelf life period. The treatment with Tween 20 did not affect the flavor of the kiwifruit slices, compared with untreated fruit. Although mucilage and partly tween 20 addition increased microbial growth, especially of yeasts, their levels were still below the threshold for yeast spoilage at the end of the monitoring period. Hence, the results showed that mucilage coating applied to kiwifruit minimally processed fruit improved the quality of stored fresh-cut kiwifruits.