International Journal of Emerging trends in Engineering and Development ISSN 2249-6149 Issue1, Vol. 2 RS Publication Page 1 Effect of Composite Edible Coating Treatment on Physical, Textural and Microbial Quality of Tomatoes Stored At Ambient Conditions A.S. Nandane 1 and R.K. Jain 2 1 Dept of Food Processing Technology,A.D. Patel Institute of Technology;New VV Nagar, Anand Gujarat 2 Dept of Food Processing Technology,A.D. Patel Institute of Technology;New VV Nagar, Anand Gujarat Abstract The study was carried out to determine the effect of composite edible coating on various quality parameters of tomatoes stored at ambient conditions. It was observed that edible coating treatment affects significantly on physicochemical and microbial qualities of tomatoes. The coating treatment also helps to enhance the shelf life of tomatoes as compared to control samples without coating treatment Keywords: composite edible coating, tomatoes, weight loss, cohesiveness, standard plate count 1. Introduction Food packaging materials protect food from physical, chemical and biological hazards such as moisture, light, gases, aromas and microorganism, by maintaining it’s quality and prolongs it’s shelf life. Packaging requirements of food are much more stringent than for most other commodities. At present the most commonly used packaging materials for food are metals, glass, plastics, foils and paper boards. As they are non-edible they have to be removed from package at the time of use. Even though the package performs significant functions for extending shelf life of foods, the conventional packaging materials also poses serious problem of environmental pollution if they are non-recyclable. It is estimated the packaging materials generate approximately 30 per cent by weight of municipal waste. Out of 30 per cent packaging waste, 13 per cent is due to plastic materials which are not biodegradable. Increasing environmental