Abstract
The effect of chitosan/nano-titanium dioxide coating with antimicrobial agents on ready to eat cantaloupe fruit by chilling was investigated. In comparison with uncoated samples, ascorbic acid and juice leakage in chitosan/nano-titanium dioxide (CH/TiO2) treated fruit were significantly maintained. Likewise, the decrease of malondialdehyde (MDA) and total soluble solids (TSS) in chitosan/nano-titanium dioxide/thymol/tween (CH/TiO2/TT) coated fruits was also inhibited. Total mold and yeast population counts decreased from 2.60 to 1.60 log CFU/g, respectively. Moreover, activities of water (AW) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) were also much lower than those in control sample fruit. The results indicated that (CH/TiO2/TT) coating was effective in enhancing the shelf life with acceptable in the internal and the external cantaloupe fruit quality.