Effect of Sweet Potato Starch Edible Coating on Tomato Quality During

Appropriate postharvest interventions are crucial for extending the shelf life of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicu L.) while maintaining their quality. This study examined the effectiveness of an edible coating based on sweet potato starch supplemented with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and glycerol (as a plasticizer) in preserving the physical integrity of tomatoes and reducing weight loss over a 7-day period at room temperature (±28 °C). The treatment involved coating the tomatoes with a formulation consisting of sweet potato starch (10 g), CMC (4 g), glycerol (50 mL), and ascorbic acid (5 g) in 1,000 mL of distilled water, with results compared against an uncoated control group. Evaluations focused on visual color changes and mass stability on days 1, 3, 5, and 7. The findings indicate that the sweet potato starch-based coating successfully inhibited respiration and transpiration rates. By the end of the storage period (day 7), the coated tomatoes retained a weight of 46 g, significantly outperforming the control group, which dropped to 29 g. Furthermore, this treatment proved effective in delaying color shifts associated with premature ripening. These results confirm that a sweet potato starch-based edible coating holds great potential as an economical, eco-friendly, and consumer-safe postharvest technology solution.