Postharvest sweet cherry quality and safety maintenance by Aloe vera treatment: A new edible coating

A novel edible coating based on Aloe vera gel, accordingly to our developed patent (SP Patent Filed P200302937), has been used as postharvest treatment to maintain sweet cherry quality and safety. During cold storage, uncoated fruit showed increases in respiration rate, rapid weight loss and colour changes, accelerated softening and ripening, stem browning and increased microbial populations, these processes being more intense during the shelf life periods. On the contrary, sweet cherry treated with A. vera gel significantly delayed the above parameters related to postharvest quality losses, and storability could be extended. The sensory analyses revealed beneficial effects in terms of delaying stem browning and dehydration, maintenance of fruit visual aspect without any detrimental effect on taste, aroma or flavours. As far as we aware, this is the first time A. vera gel is used as an edible coating in fruit, which would be an innovative and interesting means for commercial application and as alternative of the use of postharvest chemical treatments. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.