Effect of Different Edible Film Coatings on Microbial Analyses and Organoleptic Attributes of Fresh Cut Kiwi (Actinidia Deliciosa) Green Kiwi Cv. Hayward

The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of different edible film coating of Carboxymethyl cellulose and Aloe vera gel on microbial and sensorial properties of fresh-cut kiwi fruit stored at 4oC for 20 days. The slices of kiwi fruit were covered with Carboxymethyl cellulose and Aloe vera gel while the uncoated samples served as control. The kiwi fruit slices were packaged and cold stored at refrigerator condition and it was conducted with the appropriate methodology at the post-harvest laboratory of the Department of Horticulture, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Allahabad, during 2022-23. The experiment was laid out in December month of 2022 in a completely randomized design with Nine treatments and three replications. The treatment details viz., Control, Carboxymethyl Cellulose 1.0%, Carboxymethyl Cellulose 1.5%, Aloe vera gel 30%, Aloe vera gel 40%, Carboxymethyl Cellulose 1.0% + Aloe vera gel 30%, Carboxymethyl Cellulose 1.5% + Aloe vera gel 30%, Carboxymethyl Cellulose 1.0% + Aloe vera gel 40% and Carboxymethyl Cellulose 1.5 % + Aloe vera gel 40%. It is concluded that the effect of Treatment T3 i.e., AVG 3 was found to be best in terms of microbial analyses i.e., Yeast and mould count (log CFU/g) (2.07), Total bacterial count (log CFU/g) (3.38) and Spoilage (%) (13.34%) and Sensory evaluation i.e., Colour score (6.17), Taste score (6.19), Odour score (6.13), Texture score (4.89) and Overall acceptability (5.85) i.e., T3. The results highlighted that Aloe vera gel 30% coating improved the quality of stored fresh-cut kiwi fruit slices.