Enhancing safety and shelf life of fresh-cut mango by application of edible coatings and microencapsulation technique.

Mango pulp is very perishable and so has a short shelf life, which both marketers and consumers would like to be longer. Manually sliced mango was treated by coating opuntia mucilage-rosemary oil (Mu + RO), 2 g rosemary oil microencapsul (ROM), and 2 g (ROM) plus (Mu + RO); the treated mango pieces were placed in plastic trays, and overwrapped with PVDC film and then stored at 6°C. Changes in the quality parameters and activity of peroxidase (POD) enzyme were evaluated for 9 days of storage period. These treatments retarded loss of ascorbic acid and the drop in sensory acceptability, fewer changes in color, decreasing activity POD enzyme. These also inhibited the decay incidence and slowed microbial growth. The (Mu + RO) treatment was more effective in controlling postharvest quality as compared to the (ROM) treatment, but the data reveal that applying the compound treatment effectively prolongs the quality attributes and extends the storage life of sliced mango fruit.