Chitosan and arrowroot-based coatings increase shelf life and post-harvest quality of tomatoes

Abstract

Tomatoes have a prominent market position, providing various healthy compounds. Besides the ample fresh consumption, several tomato derivatives have great interest in worldwide culinary. However, this vegetable has a short post-harvest life due to its climacteric metabolism, impairing its consumption viability. In this context, studies to mitigate post-harvest losses are frequent, where edible coatings are alternatives to prolong the shelflife of food. Here we show the efficiency of using edible coating based on arrowroot starch and chitosan in conservation the post-harvest quality of tomatoes. Our results indicate that the arrowroot starch edible coating at 3% is able to prolong the shelflife and promote the safe consumption of this vegetable