Preservation of kiwifruit coated with an edible film at ambient temperature

With the permeability mathematical model of edible film and analytic hierarchy process (AHP), four items including the permeability of oxygen (P-O 2), carbon dioxide (P-CO 2) and water vapour (WVP), and respiratory quotient (P-CO 2//P-O 2) of ediblefilm used for kiwifruit preservation were evaluated comprehensively. The optimum edible film composed of soybean protein isolate (SPI), stearic acid (SA), and pullulan (Pul) was obtained and used to preserve kiwifruit. The result showed that the edible film for coating kiwifruit retarded the senescence process of fruit. The softening rates of kiwifruit coated with or without the edible film were 29% and 100%, respectively, in 37 days storage, thus the shelf life of kiwifruit coated with edible film being extended to about 3 times. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.