Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria

Background. Fresh-cut fruits are highly perishable and have a shorter shelf life due to processing methods such as peeling and cutting, which lead to quality degradation. These processes can cause loss of texture and weight, increased susceptibility to browning, and microbial contamination. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of NatureSeal® (5%), shallot (S5%) or onion (O5%) edible coatings, ascorbic acid (Asc2% and Asc5%), and their combinations (S2.5%+Asc1.25% and O2.5%+Asc1.25%) in inhibiting enzymatic brown­ing, reducing quality changes, and enhancing the quality attributes of fresh-cut ‘Fuji’ apples during storage.
Materials and methods. Fresh-cut apples were immersed in edible coatings, ascorbic acid, and their combi­nation solutions, and then stored at 4 ±1°C for 16 days. Quality parameters were evaluated at 2-day intervals.
Results. Coated fresh-cut apples exhibited higher quality than the control group. The coatings inhibited the browning index, delayed firmness loss, and preserved most of the quality attributes of fresh-cut apples without significantly reducing their nutritional value. The firmness and total soluble solids content of coated fresh-cut apples remained stable over the storage period. The total phenolic content and DPPH radical scav­enging activity of the coated treatments were significantly higher than those of the control group during the first 12 days of storage. By the end of the storage period, no significant difference was observed in the quality retention of fresh-cut apples treated with either S5% or O5% edible coatings, whether applied individually or in combination with ascorbic acid. All coating treatments received higher sensory scores compared to the control across all evaluated quality aspects on day 16 of storage.
Conclusion. Fresh-cut apples treated with NatureSeal®5%, Asc5%, Asc2.5%, O2.5%+Asc1.25%, O5%, and S2.5%+Asc1.25% demonstrated notable potential for preserving overall quality during storage. These coat­ings effectively delayed changes in sensory quality for 16 days at 4 ±1°C, with no significant differences observed in odour, taste, firmness, or overall preference among the coated treatments. However, the sensory attribute scores of the coated treatments were significantly different (p < 0.05) from the control group.