PREPARATION AND ANALYSIS OF CHITOSANGLYCEROL EDIBLE COATING FOR STRAWBERRY

Strawberry is a popular fruit, but it is relatively quick to perish, and therefore must be consumed immediately. This perishable issue is due to the high rate of respiration and water content of strawberry. In this research, strawberry fruits are coated with chitosan-based edible coating to extend their shelf life. The characteristics of the edible film and the effectiveness of the chitosan-glycerol edible coating are studied, with analyses of thickness analysis, analysis of water vapor transmission on edible films and weight loss analysis, analysis of the number of microbes and qualitative analysis of the physical appearance of the strawberries that have been coated. The best data is obtained with the formulation using 0.50 % glycerol (v/v). This can be seen from the steam transmission rate factor (WVTR) where the concentration is 0.50 % where the average is at 16.6723 g m-2 h-1. Then after being applied to strawberries, the data on the weight loss analysis showed that the 0.50 % concentration formulation had the smallest shrinkage both at room temperature and at refrigerator temperature. This study provides valuable insight for the development of chitosan-based edible coating for postharvest process of agricultural products in developing countries.