UTILIZING POTATO PEEL WASTE FOR EXTENDING THE SHELF-LIFE OF FRESH-CUT APPLES

Fresh-cut apples are at high risk of browning, which makes them highly perishable. The growing demand for fresh-cut produce has made it essential to explore convenient methods to enhance the shelf stability of ready-to-eat produce. The current research was conducted to prolong the life of fresh-cut apples through edible coating formulated with potato peel extract (PPE). The effect of PPE coating in combination with chemical preservatives including ascorbic acid, oxalic acid and calcium lactate was studied on fresh-cut apple slices stored at 5°C. The treatments were designed based on three different concentrations of PPE i.e. 3%, 5% and 7%. Physicochemical analysis of weight loss, total soluble solids, firmness, titratable acidity, pH, browning index, vitamin C and sensory evaluation were conducted to determine the changes in quality characteristics over 9 days. It was revealed that with the increase in PPE, the browning index decreased along with better retention of other quality parameters. The treatment with the highest percentage of PPE (T4) also had the best score in sensory evaluation. Overall, the study demonstrated that edible coatings enriched with higher concentrations of PPE, particularly at 7%, successfully retained the acceptable quality and extended the storage life of fresh-cut apples.