Investigating potential of edible coatings for microbial safety, quality and shelf life extension of fresh cut cucumbers: A statistical optimization approach

Six different edible coatings were evaluated to determine their antimicrobial efficacy and maintenance of physicochemical properties of fresh cut cucumber. Assessment of coatings showed chitosan and pectin had at par antimicrobial efficacy significantly higher than other coatings over fresh cut cucumber while maintaining their nutritive and physicochemical characteristics. However, minimum microbial load was found on chitosan coated fresh cut cucumber even after 9 days of storage. Therefore, chitosan was selected for further optimization of coating conditions i.e dipping time and coating concentration that was statistically designed and executed using Response Surface Methodology. Optimization studies discovered that fresh cut cucumber dipped in 1% w/v chitosan solution for 5 min had minimum microbial load even after 12 days of storage besides maintaining physicochemical properties, thus extending its shelf life. Validation studies and shelf life analysis of pretreated chitosan coated fresh cut cucumber were performed and results revealed that chitosan coated fresh cut cucumber can be consumed up to 12 days while maintaining its physicochemical, microbiological and sensorial characteristics.