Abstract

Four levels of wax emulsions viz., 3, 4, 5 and 6% were prepared by adding oleic acid, triethanolamine and hot water. The wax emulsions were coated on fully matured mangoes to assess the shelf life of wax coated mangoes stored at ambient conditions. A hand operated wax coating machine was developed to coat wax on mango fruits. Physiological loss in weight (PLW) and organoleptic properties of wax coated fruits and uncoated fruits (control) were measured periodically during the storage period. It was observed that the PLW was lower in wax coated samples than the control. From the results, it was also found that the shelf life of 6% wax emulsion coated mango fruits could be extended up to 12 days and for the control it was only 7 days.

Keywords: Paraffin wax, Wax emulsion, Mango fruits, Shelf life, Organoleptic evaluation, Physiological loss in weight, Physical characteristics