Quality evaluation of tomatoes coated by an advanced electrostatic spray coating system.

A critical assessment was carried out to investigate the impact of electrostatic spray coatings as compared
to dip coatings on tomatoes which were conducted at 30 � 2 °C and 60% RH for a period of 30 days.
In this paper, the impact of developed polysaccharide-based coatings (alginate and cellulose coatings with
clove oil) and commercially available wax-based coatings (VMW50+) was compared to that of uncoated
tomatoes. The application of alginate- and cellulose-based electrostatically charged sprays was found to
significantly (P < 0.05) reduce the weight loss, firmness, colour and bioactive compound degradation and
overall flavour loss as compared to uncoated and dip-based coating during the storage period of 30 days.
Moreover, alginate- and cellulose-based electrostatically charged spray coating were more efficient in
delaying the spoilage of tomatoes by 20 days as compared to the uncoated one. A significant level of
charge-to-mass ratio has been achieved, which confirmed the chargeability of coating materials. These
findings confirmed the capability of electrostatically charged sprays to extend the shelf life and preserve
the overall quality of tomatoes during storage.