A novel approach for quality maintenance and shelf life extension of fresh-cut Kajari melon: Effect of treatments with honey and soy protein isolate

- Significantly higher weight loss occurred in untreated (control) melon sample.
- Browning index was higher in control sample.
- Samples treated with 150 mL honey/L of water showed better sensory results.
- Coatings/treatments were effective in maintaining color and ascorbic acid.
- Coatings/treatments were found to limit the microbial growth.

Effect of treatments with different concentrations of honey (0 mL/L of water, 50 mL/L of water, 100 mL/L of water, 150 mL/L of water) followed by coating with soy protein isolate (50 g/L of water) on fresh-cut Kajari melons was investigated. Effect of honey separately without soy protein isolate coating was also investigated. The treatments were given prior to packing the samples in polypropylene trays and stored at 4 °C for sensory and overall shelf life studies. A total of eight combinations of samples with three replicates each were analyzed for various quality attributes throughout the storage life. Highest weight loss occurred in untreated melon samples. Sample treated with 150 mL honey/L of water +50 g SPI/L of water maintained highest total soluble solids throughout the storage. Sensory scores below 5 were given to control sample after day 8 of storage. Samples treated with honey (150 mL/L of water) showed better results in terms of most of the sensory characteristics. Ripening index decreased remarkably over the storage period with control sample reaching lowest values in comparison to treated samples. Total plate count of 9.63 log colony forming units per gram (CFU/g) for control sample and counts of less than 5 log CFU/g for treated samples were observed at the end of the storage.