PRODUCTION OF KONJAC GLUCOMANNAN ANTIMICROBIAL FILM FOR EXTENDING SHELF LIFE OF FRESH CUT TOMATO

Konjac glucomannan (KG) is polysaccharide which can be fabricated to form edible film.
The applications of KG film have attracted a lot of attention for use in minimization of postharvest losses due to its low water vapour permission rate (WVPR) and good strength.
In this study, KG was mixed with antimicrobial agent, clove oil, and then was fabricated to the film.
Film properties such as tensile strength (TS), % elongation (%E) and WVPR were determined.
Tensile Strength and % elongation of KG film with clove oil were lower than those from KG film without clove oil.
WVPR of KG film with clove oil was also lower than the film without clove oil, which reveals that it has better ability to prevent water vapour.
In addition, when placing a sheet of antimicrobial KG film (4×3 cm) into a plastic container containing fresh sliced tomato, it was found that the film with clove oil can extend the shelf life of sliced tomato for at least 23 days, while a controlled set of sliced tomato had a shelf life only 11 days.

Southeast Asia Symposium on Quality and Safety of Fresh and Fresh-Cut Produce

N. Wongnimitkul, B. Auiha, P. Rurkruthairat, C. Borompichaichartkul

konjac glucomannan, antimicrobial film, tomato

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.875.31