Effect of edible coating and antifungal emulsion system on Colletotrichum acutatum and shelf life of strawberries

The edible coating based on sodium alginate, chitosan, carrageenan combined with antifungal emulsion system has improved the quality and shelf life of strawberries in 16 days of storage at 4 oC. The result of determining the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of emulsions made from cassia oil in surfactants (Tween 20 with or without ethanol) against Colletotrichum acutatum was 121 and 243.8 ppm of cassia oil respectively. Strawberry samples treated by edible coating maintained the quality parameters (pH, weight loss, total soluble solids, titratable acidity) of strawberries compared to the control sample. The total aerobic microorganisms count and total yeast‐mold in edible films containing cassia oil were significantly low compared to control samples at the end of storage. Edible films made by chitosan 0.25 % (w/v) combining cassia oil showed the best result compared to the control sample and there were no significant differences between MFC and 0.5 MFC value of cassia oil. In sensory evaluation, there is no significant difference between edible film samples with or without cassia oil at 0.5 MFC value.