Consumer acceptance of fresh-cut peppers and tomatoes and their enhancement by edible coatings

Consumers are increasingly opting for minimally processed vegetables, such as fresh-cut peppers and tomatoes because they are sold in a convenient and ready-to-eat form. Unfortunately, fresh-cut vegetables are susceptible to rapid quality deterioration. Quality is an important term in the agri-food sector and refers to the totality of features and characteristics of a product that are required to satisfy the consumer. The objectives of the study were therefore to (i) shed light on the desirable quality traits of fresh-cut peppers and tomatoes sought by consumers and (ii) assess the effectiveness of edible coatings applied on these vegetables to enhance quality retention. Survey questionnaires were administered to 100 consumers. Quality traits of peppers and tomatoes treated by edible coatings were also assessed. Edible coatings tested were alginate (A), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and xanthan gum (X) which were either left plain or incorporated with potassium sorbate (PS, 0.5% w/v) and/or sodium acetate (SA, 1% w/v). Untreated and treated samples were withdrawn at 3 days’ intervals and subjected to microbiological (Total Viable Counts (TVC), Yeast and Mold Counts (YMC)), physicochemical (instrumental colour, moisture content) and sensory (hedonic) analyses. Consumers indicated that the most important attributes when buying fresh-cut peppers and tomatoes were overall appearance, freshness and nutritional value. Surface colour and moisture content values of treated vegetables were comparable to untreated ones throughout refrigerated storage. TVC and YMC for fresh-cut tomatoes coated with X + PS + SA and X + SA were significantly (P < 0.05) lower than their untreated counterparts after 9 days of storage. Moreover, the vitamin C content of X + PS + SA-coated fresh-cut peppers (85.8 mg/100g) and tomatoes (3.4 mg/100 g) was higher than for untreated peppers (73.6 mg/100 g) and tomatoes (2.8 mg/100 g) after 9 days of storage. Higher mean appearance and texture scores were also recorded for vegetables treated with X + PS + SA compared with the untreated ones by the end of the storage period. Taken together, the findings of this study point to the effectiveness of xanthan-based antimicrobial edible coatings to enhance consumer-sought quality attributes of fresh-cut peppers and tomatoes.