OBTAINING BIOPOLYMERS FROM CO-PRODUCTS AND THEIR APPLICATION IN TOMATO (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICUM) PRESERVATION

The research objective was to obtain co-products from the agroindustry to elaborate edible coatings based on biopolymers (7 treatments, combining starch, pectin, whey and cinnamon essential oil) and to evaluate their effect on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) preservation. Vitamin C content, pH, respiration rate, total soluble solids (TSS) content, weight loss, titratable acidity (TA) and firmness were evaluated. Tomatoes were evaluated every 72 h for 18 days. TA, TSS and pH showed slight differences for some sampling days. Still, at the end of the study, no significant differences were found between treatments (p>0.05), all values being suitable for tomato consumption. The highest respiration rate was found at 9 days, corresponding to the climacteric peak. Uncoated tomatoes had the highest respiration rate. The coating positively affected weight loss and firmness of the tomatoes, and did not modify the ascorbic acid content. It is concluded that treatment 7 (starch and essential oil) and treatment 4 (starch, pectin and whey) had a greater effect and better preservation on tomato characteristics.