Chitosan: Antimicrobial activity and potential applications for preserving minimally processed strawberries

• Published in: Food microbiology 2008-12, Vol.25 (8), p.992-1000
• Main Authors: Campaniello, D., Bevilacqua, A., Sinigaglia, M., Corbo, M.R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antimicrobial coating; antimicrobial properties; Biological and medical sciences; Chitosan; Chitosan - pharmacology; color; Consumer Product Safety; food contamination; Food Contamination - prevention & control; Food industries; Food microbiology; Food Packaging - methods; Food Preservation - methods; food preservatives; Food Preservatives - pharmacology; food quality; Fragaria; Fragaria - microbiology; Fresh-cut strawberries; Fruit and vegetable industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; kinetics; microbial contamination; minimally processed foods; modified atmosphere packaging; oxygen; Quality; Quality Control; Shelf life; storage temperature; strawberries; Temperature; temporal variation; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0740-0020; 1095-9998
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fm.2008.06.009

In this research the possible use of chitosan coating on fresh-cut strawberries was investigated. Manually sliced strawberries were treated with a solution of 1% chitosan, packaged in modified atmosphere with high (80%) and low (5%) percentage of oxygen and then stored at 4, 8, 12 and 15 °C. Changes in microbiological quality were measured and the shelf life of the samples, as stability time, was kinetically modelled in order to check the effects of storage temperature on the most relevant microbial indices for product quality. A chitosan coating inhibited the growth of microorganisms and affected significantly and positively the stability time of the products, above all when the samples were packaged in modified atmosphere (with low and high percentage of oxygen). Besides, the presence of high percentage of oxygen, combined with chitosan coating, seemed to affect positively the colour. The data revealed that applying a chitosan coating prolonged effectively the quality and extended the shelf life of fresh-cut strawberries.