Whey protein incorporated with olive oil as novel edible coating for fresh cut pineapples

Nowadays, the market for fresh ready-to-eat or fresh-cut products has increased explosively due to the increasing consumer demand for fresh produce as an important source of nutrients, vitamins and fiber and also due to its convenience. At the same time, the major problems of fresh-cut industry are cutting surface browning, weight loss and short shelf-life. Thus, this study was aimed to maintain the postharvest quality of fresh-cut pineapples using whey protein incorporated with olive oil as edible coating. ‘Pattavia’ pineapple fruits with commercial maturity were washed and cut longitudinal section with thickness of 2-3 cm (about 70-85 g each). Coating solutions consist of 10% whey protein isolate (WPI) mixed with olive oil at the concentrations of 0, 0.25, 0.5, and 1%. Fruit sticks were dipped into composite coating solutions for 2 min and dried at 25°C for 1 h. All samples were packed in polypropylene (PP) boxes and stored at 4°C. WPI + 1% olive oil significant reduced weight loss and maintained the highest levels of ascorbic acid contents and total phenolic contents of fresh-cut pineapples. In addition, edible coating delayed ripening. However, edible coatings did not affect firmness and malondialdehyde content.