Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 10 (2): 129-138, 2011 ISSN 1680-5194 © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2011 Corresponding Author: Tariq Masud, Department of Food Technology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan 129 Effect of Coatings and Packaging Material on the Keeping Quality of Mangoes (Mangifera indica L.) Stored at Low Temperature Kashif Sarfraz Abbasi , Nuzba Anjum , Shehla Sammi , Tariq Masud and Sartaj Ali 1 1 1 1 2 Department of Food Technology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan 1 Department of Food Agriculture and Chemical Technology, Karakoram International University, 2 Northern Areas, Gilgit, Pakistan Abstract: In order to identify and compare the effects of different concentrations of coatings (Carboxy Methyl Cellulose, CaCl2, Bee wax) and packaging (polyethylene sheet), on improving the keeping quality of mangoes its storage performance was evaluated. Mangoes after harvesting were given hot water treatment at 50±2 C for three minutes as quarantine measure against fungal attack. Then fruits were coated with three o different concentrations of CMC and CaCl2 along with bee wax coating and polyethylene sheet packaging. All the treatments were applied in combination with KMnO4 soaked with sponge cubes used as ethylene absorbents. Fruits were kept at refrigerated temperature for 80 days and evaluated for physico-chemical and sensory changes at an interval of seven days. All coatings delayed fruit ripening and improved the keeping quality of the produce but best results were exhibited by Carboxy Methyl Cellulose (CMC) at 2% level. It extended storage life up to 77 days with appreciable retention of all the quality parameters. Key words: Mango, coating materials, physico-chemical analysis INTRODUCTION Mango (Mangifera indica L) is a very delicious tropical fruit belongs to family Anacardiaceae. It is an abundant source of vitamins, minerals and is famous for its excellent flavor, attractive fragrance and nutritional value. It is as an emerging tropical export crop and is produced in about 90 countries in the world with a production of over 820,877MT. Pakistan is at 7 position among main th mango producing countries with production of 77,468 MT and export accounts for 9.4% of total world production valued at $ 32.35 million (CSF, 2007). It is the second major fruit crop in Pakistan with more than 200 varieties, amongst important leading commercial ones are Chaunsa, Langra, Sindhri, Dusehri, Saroli, Fajri, Anwar Retol, Bagan Pali, Gulab Khas, Neelum, Maldah, Collector, etc. contributing major share in the economy of the country (Amin and Hanif, 2002). The magnitude of post harvest losses in fresh fruits and vegetables is an estimated 5-25% in developed countries and 20-40% in developing countries, depending upon the commodity (FAO, 2001). Due to improper handling, packaging, storage and poor post harvest managements of fruits, producers and traders in Pakistan face 20-30% losses of this perishable commodity (Tahir et al., 2002) that corresponds to 320.7 thousand tons with a value of Rs 3.0 billion (Haq, 2002), also contributing to low foreign exchange of $ 315 per tones as compare to international price of $ 861 per tones (PHDEB, 2007). In recent years, coatings of some edible materials like Lipid based coatings, polysaccharide based coatings, protein based coatings, composite and bilayer coatings etc. have been applied on the skin of different fruits in order to reduce moisture loss, restrict oxygen entrance, lower respiration, retard ethylene production and seal in flavour volatiles (Baldwin et al., 1995). In addition to these coatings applications the maintenance of cold chain during the post harvest management of fruits is very critical. These coatings are used to create modified atmosphere and to reduce weight loss during transport and storage by controlling the permeability and gaseous exchange (Cuq et al., 1995). Previously such coatings have long been used on citrus, apples, tomatoes and cucumbers with excellent results but are less studied for the use on mango (Baldwin et al., 1999). The use of polysaccharides and protein based coating materials on several types of fruits has been developed in past few years that Include sucrose fatty acid esters on apricot (Sumnu and Bayindirli, 1995) and bananas (Abbasi et al., 2004), cellulose on mango (Baldwin et al., 1999), edible coatings on strawberry (Del-Valle et al., 2005) and corn protein in tomato (Park et al., 1994). The application of reported coating material has also significantly increased the shelf life of different varieties of citrus and mangoes (Attia, 1995; Carrillo et al., 1995; Farooqi et al., 1995; Manzano et al., 1997; Pal, 1998) respectively. Pakistan is the leading mango exporting country in the world (Sauco, 2004) with premium product harvested