Kinetics of colour and texture changes of button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) coated with chitosan during storage at low temperature.

Kinetics of color and texture changes in coated button mushrooms were investigated as a function of coating agent's rate (1%, 2% and 3% w/v chitosan). The inner and outer surface colours of mushrooms in terms of CIELAB parameters L*, a*, b*, C*, ° h, ∆E, and Browning Index (BI), and their textural properties in terms of firmness were evaluated. The color values on both sides of the mushrooms except for L* values increased and their firmness decreased with the coating treatment. The color changes of the inner and outer surface of mushrooms and their texture changes followed zero-order reaction models with higher R2 (0.9987-0.9999) and lower RMSE (4.8448 x 10-5-1.6690) and χ2 values (3.9120 x 10-9-4.6425). The 2% chitosan solution was determined to be the most effective coating agent among the coating agents used to extend the post-harvest shelf life by optimally preserving the color parameters of the mushrooms together with their texture properties.