Effect of Composite Edible Coating from Amaranthus Cruentus Flour and Stearic Acid on Refrigerated Strawberry (fragaria Ananassa) Quality

−− A composite coating from Amaranthus cruentus flour and stearic acid (10 g stearic acid/100 g flour, 26 g glycerol/100 g flour and stirring speed at 12000 rpm) was applied on fresh strawberries in order to verify the effect on its quality. Other treatments were effected to comparison: PVC film, bilayer coating of the optimized formulation, optimized formulation without stearic acid and a control group of fruits (not coated). Fruit quality was evaluated by weight loss, mold spoilage, firmness retention and surface color development. The weight loss increased with the storage time for all treatments and the firmness decreased, however, the optimized coating was the most effective for the firmness retention of fruits among the edible coatings studied (excepting PVC film). The same trend was observed for the surface color development; the optimized coating resulted in a minor increase in the ratio of chromaticity parameters (a/b) as a function of storage time. Keywords−− edible coating, Amaranthus cruentus flour, stearic acid, strawberry quality.