The Effects of Edible Coatings on the Postharvest Quality of Citrus Fruits as Affected by Granulation

Abstract EN

The world population is growing day-by-day, while the available natural resources for agricultural production, i.e., soil and water, are rapidly decreasing.

Moreover, consumer preferences are highly affected by some quality characteristics of food products, which can be classified as external, internal, and hidden attributes.

Among the internal quality attributes, granulation is a significant factor damaging the inner quality of citrus fruits and reducing the consumer attraction.

The main symptoms of granulation (also known as section drying, crystallization, or scarification) in citrus are shrivelling in juice sacs due to gel formation, hardening, white colour, and low extractable juice content.

A well-known result of the granulation is the reduction in soluble solid concentration (SSC), total sugar, and titratable acidity (TA).

Granulation is known to affect the citrus fruit quality all over the world.

Since citrus is one of the world’s most popular fruit species, it is highly important to identify and manage this physiological problem to help sustainable production throughout the world.

Consumer’s preferences have also been moving towards the use of eco- and environmental-friendly alternative methods in postharvest fruit storage, including edible coatings.

Edible coatings act as a barrier for the air and water transitions through the surface of fruits which results in retarding the deterioration of fruits, preventing and/or controlling the microbial decay, improving the fruit quality, and hence extending the storage duration.

The mechanism of citrus fruit granulation is highly associated with the oxidative stress, and edible coatings have been reported to significantly reduce granulation and improve the quality of the fruits.

In line with this information, this review article aimed to summarize the reasons, results, and managements of granulation of citrus fruits.