Maintaining the nutritional quality and increasing the shelf life of dried apricot using sodium alginate and pectin as edible coating

The application of edible coatings is suggested to protect the quality of dried fruits during storage. In this study, dried apricots were coated with edible coatings prepared by sodium alginate and pectin. The coated samples were kept at 25 +/- 2 degrees C for four months. During storage, physicochemical, microbial, and sensory properties were evaluated. The results showed that edible coating effectively maintained the moisture content, color, and texture of dried apricots. Amount of vitamin C and carotenoid losses decreased in the coated samples. After four months of storage, dried apricot coated with sodium alginate and citric acid had the highest content of vitamin C (101 mg/kg) and carotenoid content (22.26 mg/kg). In addition, coating reduced the rate of the changes in pH, acidity, reducing sugars, and brix and delayed microbial growth. During storage, the microbial count of coated dried apricots was lower than the control. Sodium alginate-based edible coating was more able to maintain the quality of dried apricots. The results indicated that the addition of citric acid to the coating formulation enhanced its antimicrobial effect and decreased its brown color. Also, the results of sensory evaluation showed that coating had a significant impact on sensory properties. At the storage end, the highest overall acceptance (3.13) was observed in the sample coated with sodium alginate and citric acid.